Tourists appear in Inverness court after two separate crashes on A9
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Two foreign tourists have appeared in private at Inverness Sheriff Court following two separate crashes on the A9 on Saturday.
The first incident happened at the Ralia junction, near Newtonmore, shortly before 2pm and involved a white Vauxhall Crossland and a blue Jaguar XF.
Two passengers from the Vauxhall – a 55-year-old woman and a 22-year-old man – were taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness and have since been discharged.
Two female passengers, aged 61 and 55, from the Jaguar were taken to the same hospital for treatment to serious but non-life threatening injuries.
The 58-year-old driver of the Vauxhall, German national Gunter Schmeig, made no plea to charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He was committed for further examination and released on bail.
The road reopened initially under traffic management and was fully cleared by around 8.20pm.
The second crash happened near the Lynwilg junction, south of Aviemore, around 5.25pm and involved a white Vauxhall Corsa, a black Land Rover Discovery, a blue Ford Fiesta and a silver Volkswagen Amarok.
A 17-year-old male passenger from the Vauxhall Corsa was taken to Raigmore Hospital for treatment to serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
A 54-year-old woman from the same vehicle was also taken to hospital and has since been discharged.
Police confirmed that no one else was injured.
The 56-year-old driver of the Vauxhall, American David Margil from Massachusetts, made no plea to a charge of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He was committed for further examination and released on bail.
The road was closed for just under two hours.
Sergeant Ally Mackay said: “Our investigation into both of these incidents are ongoing and I would urge anyone with information which has not yet been passed to police to get in touch.
“We would be keen to speak to anyone who witnessed either incident or who may have dashcam footage.
“You can call 101, quoting reference 1989 for Newtonmore or 2884 for Aviemore, both of August 5, 2023.”
