A distraught son has revealed how his drink-driver dad tried to pressurise him to blame the teenage friend he had killed in a horrific crash.
Brendon Main, 18, died in the car being driven by James Watson. Watson's son – and Brendon's best friend – Levi was also injured in the crash.
But in an effort to avoid prison, Watson begged Levi to pin the blame for the crash on his dead friend.
Levi told the Daily Mail: "I got phone calls threatening me to change my statement, to say that it had been Brendon driving the car. He didn't want to go to jail.
"It was bad enough that he took a kid's life, never mind asking your own son to lie for you. He got what he deserves in court."
Watson was jailed for nine years after causing the death of Brendon in the smash that left wrecked cars and debris littered along a quiet street.
A court heard the 38-year-old got behind the wheel after a drinking session at a Newburgh hotel in Aberdeenshire to drive to his home - less than a mile away - with three teenagers in the car.
Following the sentencing, Brendon's parents Anne and Bert said they were 'disgusted' by Watson's attempt to frame their son.
Mrs Main said: "All he's ever wanted is to come out of this free. The sentence he got is not enough and never will be enough. It should be a life for a life."
Watson, Levi, Brendon and another friend, Michael Smith, had been drinking in the Ythan Hotel before the accident, which happened in the early hours of July 24, 2011.
Brendon had handed over the keys of his Ford Fiesta to Watson, so he would not be tempted to drive home once he'd had a couple of drinks.
Levi said: "Normally, we used to leave the car in the car park and walk to my dad's house. That night, he decided to drive us home in Brendon's car.
"I said I would sit in the front but Brendon said he would.
"We started having an argument - nothing serious - and the last thing he said to me was 'love you, bud'."
Watson - who was only reunited with his son three years ago after being estranged for many years - lost control of the vehicle and smashed into a parked Land Rover Freelander.
The car hit the 4x4 so hard that the SUV was forced onto the bonnet of a nearby Volvo.
Brendon was crushed when he fell from the Fiesta as it overturned. He later died in hospital.
Levi said: "The last thing I remember is my dad saying "let's see how fast this thing can go'.
"I heard everyone screaming and then it all went black."
He added: "I've not spoken to him since the night of the accident and I never will again."
Watson was jailed for eight years and nine months after admitting causing death by dangerous driving. He was also banned for the road for 15 years. He already had a conviction for careless driving.
Sentencing Watson, Glasgow High Court Judge Lord Burns said: "I find it extraordinary in you trying to shift blame onto the young man whose death you were responsible."