A driver who almost killed a young woman in a head-on crash "played Russian roulette" with others' lives, a court has heard.
Daniel Rafferty, 38, was told by Sheriff Alistair Watson that he had used his car as a "deadly weapon".
Rafferty admitted overtaking two cars on a blind summit in Ayrshire and colliding with Kerry Clarke's vehicle.
The 21-year-old spent three days in a coma. Sentence was delayed for a month to allow for background reports.
Miss Clarke, a beauty therapist, stopped breathing at the scene, but was revived by a passing hospital doctor. She spent almost six months in hospital.
Speaking outside Kilmarnock Sheriff Court, she said: "I just want him put in jail and never allowed to drive again."
"If the driver of the other car had not pulled through you would have been facing a very different charge"
Rafferty, from Kilbirnie, in Ayrshire, was driving on the B777 Lugton to Beith road when the accident happened last April.
Jennifer Forbes, prosecuting, told the court that he crossed two solid white lines onto the opposite carriageway in an attempt to overtake two cars, but was approaching a blind summit and crashed head-on into Miss Clarke's Volkswagen Polo.
Miss Clarke's extensive injuries left her facing "quite extreme" physiotherapy and it was still unknown if she would ever make a full recovery.
"It would be fair to say the accident has had a considerable effect on her whole life," Miss Forbes said.
Rafferty, who was also seriously injured, told police at the scene: "It was my fault. I went to overtake two other cars but I didn't see the one coming towards me."
The court heard he had been on his way to work but was stuck behind a slower-moving vehicle and wrongly thought the road was clear to overtake.
Sheriff Watson told the father-of-two, who admitted dangerous driving, the accident he caused was "an act of sheer folly".
The sheriff said: "On that particular road, to cross two solid white lines while trying to pass two cars is to play Russian roulette.
"If the driver of the other car had not pulled through you would have been facing a very different charge."
Sheriff Watson told Rafferty he considered the accident a most serious matter, adding that the "terrible outcome" of his criminal behaviour that day and the circumstances meant he had used his car as a "deadly weapon".
He warned Rafferty to prepare himself for any outcome, including prison, after sentencing next month following background reports. His licence was suspended.
Outside court, Miss Clarke, of Ardrossan, who is suing Rafferty for her injuries, said she was still bitter.
She said: "I just want him put in jail and never allowed to drive again. I suffered broken bones, a head injury that means I can't control the right side of my body properly and l have double vision.
"I'll be affected by this for the rest of my life".
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