TWO teenagers who recklessly drove a motorbike and ploughed into seven people, seriously injuring two of them, were sentenced to a total of five years behind bars yesterday.
Lewis Westlake-Tritton, 17, who had Graeme Hunter, 18, and a boy of 13 sitting behind him, raced up and down Union Street in Aberdeen on 26 April, carrying out dangerous U-turns and driving into the face of oncoming traffic.
He lost control o
f the Honda 125 as he was being pursued by police cars and hit a crowd of pedestrians waiting for the Torcher Parade.
He smashed into a van as it was turning right and shot into the air, along with his two passengers.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard Westlake-Tritton had taken sleeping tablets and vodka before getting on the bike.
Sentencing the pair, Sheriff Graeme Buchanan said people would have been "shocked and horrified" to have seen the CCTV footage of the incident. He went on: "It was absolutely clear that an accident of some kind was inevitable.
"As a result of this accident, a number of people suffered serious injuries, which are likely to cause them difficulties for a lengthy period of time. There is really no alternative for me other than to impose a custodial sentence."
Westlake-Tritton pleaded guilty to culpably and recklessly riding on the motorbike to the danger of the public at excessive speeds while carrying out U-turns, a wheelie and kicking pedestrians.
Hunter had denied any responsibility for the crash, claiming he had no control of the bike's speed or direction, but he was convicted of the same charge.
During his two-day trial, the court was shown CCTV video footage of pedestrians being hit by the bike.
The film showed stunned members of the public struggling to heave the bike off a child trapped underneath it.
During the trial, Hunter and his friends were described by one tearful witness as "suicidal maniacs". They left an 11-year-old boy and his 41-year-old mother with severe injuries.
Westlake-Tritton was sentenced to two and a half years' detention, to be followed by a further six months for separate offences, while Hunter was ordered to serve two years.
The pair will be supervised for 12 months after their release in order to protect the public. Westlake-Tritton was banned from driving for five years and Hunter for three.
