RSS News updates
By Martin Graham
POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a man died while walking on the M8 motorway.
The 18-year-old was struck by a heavy good vehicle as he walked along the westbound carriageway near to the Harthill service station.
The accident happened at 9.15pm on Sunday.
An ambulance attended but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
By Cara Sulieman
A FIVE year old boy killed when he was hit by a lorry while cycling just yards from his house died “doing his favourite thing in the world” his parents said tonight (wed).
Jonathan and Michaela Dunbar, from Muirfield Drive in Gullane, East Lothian, said this had been his first summer of being allowed to ride his bike fully.
And they paid tribute to their caring, helpful child, Archie.
In a statement released through Lothian & Borders Police, they said: “Archie was a free little spirit with a mischievous nature, with big brown eyes and a smile that would light up when he saw you.
“He was meant to start Primary Two tomorrow (thurs), and was really looking forward to it. He always received glowing reports, and was very popular with his classmates and teachers.
“His caring nature meant that he would always try to help his classmates if they were having difficulty understanding something that he understood himself.
“He loved reading and playing on his computer, and he loved riding his bike. This was the first summer where he was able to have full use of his bike, and he was taken from us doing his favourite thing in the world.
“Archie was also fascinated by trains, and was so knowledgeable that he could recognise trains in the same way that people recognise cars.
“One of the best days of his life was a couple of years ago when we took the steam train from Drem to Waverley Station.
“He absolutely loved it that day.” Continue reading
By Christine Lavelle
A FIVE year old boy has been killed after being struck by a lorry while out playing on his bicycle this afternoon (tues).
Archie Dunbar had been cycling on Muirfield Drive in Gullane, East Lothian, when police say he was knocked down at around 2pm.
Lothian & Borders Police said the tragic tot was killed “instantly”.
The lorry driver, who police have not named, was said to have been suffering from severe shock and taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for treatment.
It was too early to say how the accident happened.
The road was sealed off for investigations into the cause of the tragedy to begin.
Lothian and Borders Police said: “An investigation is now underway into the circumstances of the collision and we are appealing for witnesses.”
By Rory Reynolds
A DRIVER has survived a freak accident which saw him thrown through the windscreen of his lorry at 50mph.
The man, who is in his late-30s, was driving a HGV when it jack-knifed after skidding on snow.
He was thrown through the windscreen of the lorry, landing 30 feet down an embankment.
According to paramedics the man hit two trees on the way down, before coming to a standstill.
Miraculously he escaped with just a broken leg, and was last night been treated at Stirling Royal Infirmary. Continue reading
John Bendo campaigns for the elections
By Cara Sulieman
THE BROTHER of a boy who was killed in a road accident is standing for the Scottish Youth Parliament.
Fourteen-year-old John Bendo hopes that he can campaign for better road safety if his election bid is successful.
His brother, David, was just 17 when he was hit by a lorry during his lunch break in February last year.
And now John is hoping to highlight the problems of safety around construction sites as part of his manifesto.
“Make schools safer”
His brother was killed while building work was under way to replace Tynecastle High School.
He said: “I came up with the manifesto based on things that I feel really strongly about. My big brother was killed in an accident and I want to make schools safer and construction sites safer.
By Oliver Farrimond
A BRAND new ferry link worth millions to the Scottish economy completed its maiden voyage yesterday – despite the captain suffering a heart attack just minutes before departure.
Captain Antonio Arbilli suffered the attack and immediately underwent emergency surgery, leaving the Scottish Viking’s first journey all at sea.
However a replacement captain, Dominico Comisso, who for legal reasons had to be Italian, was quickly located in Belgium and flown in.
The ship was four hours late arriving at Rosyth ferry terminal following the fiasco and captain Abilli is said to be “in good shape”.
Thomas Woldbye CEO of the ferry group Norfolkline said: “Unfortunately captain Arbilli suffered a heart attack just before the boat was about to leave. Continue reading
By Cara Sulieman
A LORRY got stuck yesterday after trying to manoeuvre under a railway bridge and catching the crane it was carrying on a low beam.
The Beatsons Group lorry was carrying a crane which caught on the under side of the bridge, trapping the driver and his vehicle.
The road in Edinburgh was blocked off for two hours while police tried to free the truck.
Engineers from Network Rail inspected the bridge on the corner of New Street and Calton Road before giving it the all clear and letting the police concentrate on getting the stranded truck out.
The shame-faced driver, who didn’t want to be named, said he had never had problems driving the lorry around Edinburgh before.
He said: “I’ve driven the very same truck down here before but never had the crane on top. I just didn’t think it would get caught on the bridge.”
John Fairly from Beatsons said that the truck managed to get out after the tyre pressure was lowered.
He said: “The lorry got caught on one of the beams under the bridge. The air was taken out of the tyres to lower it that little bit and the driver got it out.
“There’s a little bit of damage to the crane and the lorry but they’ll be easily fixed.
“It’s not the sort of thing that happens every day, thank goodness.”
A spokesman for Network Rail said that the impact hadn’t caused any damage to the bridge and train services were unaffected.
He said: “Our engineers got out there straight away to check the bridge. It was found to only have superficial damage and was declared safe for trains to continue using it.
“We are confident that the bridge is stable and won’t be damaged by any attempt to remove the vehicle.”
By Kate Smail
A ROOKIE truck driver caused chaos yesterday – when he got his massive Woolworths lorry stuck under a bridge.
The hapless driver was driving the HGV for the first time when he got it wedged under a rail bridge in Edinburgh just before 9am.
Traffic in the Cameron Toll area of the city was backed up for over an hour as police and engineers struggled to work out how to free the jammed vehicle.
Early morning commuters looked on in astonishment at the huge lorry sandwiched under the 14.11ft bridge.
The embarrassed trucker, who didn’t want to be named, admitted: “This is the first time I’ve driven anything this big.”
And the Glasgow man joked: “I’m not from around these parts – and after today I don’t think I’ll be back!”
By Douglas Walker, Deadline Press & Picture Agency
A SEVEN-month-old baby was killed when the car she was travelling in smashed into an oncoming lorry.
Ella Grace Leith was being driven in a friend of the family’s vehicle when the horror crash happened just yards from their Borders home.
After clipping a horsebox van, the car veered across the road narrowly missing another vehicle before colliding with the lorry. The driver of the car and the three passengers escaped without serious injury.
The accident happened at 5.25pm on Tuesday on the A697 road at the south end of the family’s home town Greenlaw. Continue reading
Deadline Press & Picture Agency 