A motorist who tried to murder a pedestrian by driving over him and allowing his vehicle to drag his stricken victim around a car park has been jailed. Lee Scales, 28, drove a Red Ford Fiesta at Spencer Brodie outside the Westside Plaza Shopping Centre in Wester Hailes, Edinburgh, on April 14 2022.
Judge Lord Sandison saw CCTV footage of Mr Brodie being forced onto the bonnet of the motor as Scales continued to drive. The video showed Mr Brodie trying to cling on moments after Scales struck him at an estimated speed of 13 miles per hour.
Lord Sandison saw Mr Brodie fall off the bonnet and saw the moment the Fiesta’s front wheels drive over the victim’s body. The clip then showed the car’s rear wheels drive over Mr Brodie’s body as he lay on the ground in agony.
On Wednesday, Lord Sandison told Scales he needed to go to prison. Passing sentence, he said: “Your actions were entirely disproportionate. Mr Brodie has been left with permanent disfigurement and permanent impairment.
“I have read a Victim Impact Statement and listened to what your counsel Mr McSporran has said on your behalf. The sentence of the court will be one of five years and eight months.”
Scales, of Edinburgh, had pleaded guilty to an attempted murder charge at a hearing last month. He admitted to driving at excessive speed at Mr Brodie, causing him to collide with the car, and driving over the top of him.
Scales admitted to causing Mr Brodie “permanent disfigurement” and “permanent impairment” and endangering his life. Sentence had been deferred for the court to obtain reports.
On that occasion, prosecutor Margaret Barron told Lord Sandison of the moment Scales struck Mr Brodie. She added “The accused accelerated towards the complainer at speed, hitting the complainer and causing him to fall onto the bonnet of the car.
“The accused continued driving as the complainer fell off the bonnet and onto the ground. The accused continued driving, running over the complainer and dragging him along the ground before driving away from the locus.”
Mr Brodie was rushed to Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary Hospital and was treated for a brain injury, collapsed lungs, fractured ribs, and a spinal injury. The prosecutor told the court that medics were able to treat Mr Brodie but added: “The injuries sustained by the complainer were potentially life threatening.
“He will be left with permanent scarring at the site of his surgical wounds and will have permanently reduced mobility.” Ms Barron told the court that Scales, who works as a joiner, that Mr Brodie and his friend Colin Curle became involved in an argument with the accused moments before the collision.
Police became aware of the incident and started investigating - officers searched for Scales in Edinburgh but couldn’t find him in the Scottish capital. Ms Barron told the court that detectives became aware on April 16 2022 that Scales was in Newcastle.
Colleagues in Tyneside traced the accused and arrested him before Scottish officers took him back to be charged. On Wednesday, Scales submitted a letter to the court detailing his remorse for his actions.
Defence solicitor advocate Iain McSporran KC told the court that the letter reflected Scales’s views about what he had done. The lawyer added: “It says more eloquently than anything I can say on his behalf. In my dealings with him he has come across as a pleasant and agreeable young man.
“On the day in question he snapped. His family are present in court today - they stand by him and he expects to be a useful worker by the time he is released from prison.”
However, Lord Sandison told Scales, who observed proceedings via video link, that he had no other option but to send him to prison.
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