A social media influencer has been sentenced to nine years in prison after causing a fatal collision while driving a car he knew had defective brakes, killing a 77-year-old grandmother.
Catastrophic Collision on School Run
Leigh Sutherland, 31, was convicted at the High Court in Glasgow in October 2025 for causing the death of Margaret Allan by dangerous driving. The incident occurred in June 2023 on the Condorrat Ring Road in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire.
Ms Allan was driving her ten-year-old grandson home from school in her Peugeot 108 when the collision happened. She sustained injuries from which she died the following month.
A 'Cock and Bull Story' and Lack of Remorse
The court heard that Sutherland, who also uses the name Lee, was speeding and driving with an unsecured battery at the time of the crash. Crucially, he had been warned that the anti-lock braking system on his Ford Mondeo was not functioning.
Judge Thomas Hughes told Sutherland that the problems with the car's brakes "must have been quite clear", yet he continued to drive, leading to the "catastrophic incident".
Immediately after the impact, Sutherland walked away from the scene before being stopped by police. He then proceeded to tell officers a fabricated story, claiming an unidentified Romanian man had been test-driving the vehicle, which was for sale. Judge Hughes dismissed this account as a "cock and bull story" during sentencing on Friday 9 January 2026.
Sutherland's conduct after the event was heavily criticised. He made derogatory comments about his victim and posted videos about the crash while on remand, which the judge described as "totally inappropriate".
Sergeant Andy Coutts of North Lanarkshire roads policing stated that Sutherland had shown "no remorse" for his actions. The officer added that their thoughts remained with Margaret Allan's family, who had been "dignified and strong throughout this tragic ordeal".
Sentence and Previous Ban
In addition to the nine-year custodial sentence, Sutherland was disqualified from driving for 13 years and six months. It was revealed that he had been banned from driving for six months just one week prior to the fatal collision.
During the trial, his defence lawyer, Graham Brown, said Sutherland's life had been "dictated by autistic spectrum disorder" and that he had worked sporadically. Sutherland was known on TikTok for videos where he dressed as a police officer and pretended to be a defence lawyer.
The judge concluded that Sutherland's attitude was "totally and utterly unacceptable", highlighting that he walked away from the crash, "paying no regard to those you injured and left them to their fate".
