Road traffic accidents

An unfortunately everyday occurrence on roads anywhere, but this morning's accident on the A9 in Inverness deserves a brief mention.

A car, carrying an 82-year old man and two exchange students, aged 15 and 16, from Peru, collided with a lorry. All three occupants were killed. Emergency services took four hours to recover the occupants from the wreckage of the car and clear the road. They had a very difficult scene to deal with.

Although northern Scotland does not escape its share of RTA's, this one was even more tragic than usual. The young students had been staying with the elderly man and were on their way to Ullapool to catch the ferry to Stornoway. Their visit had been organised by the Free Church. At time of writing, no details had been released as next of kin are yet to be contacted. The exact circumstances of the accident are not clear either.

Early on Saturday morning, a nurse from the Western Isles Hospital in Stornoway was seriously injured when her car collided with a bus in the village of Coll, about 7 miles north of Stornoway. After initial treatment at the Stornoway hospital, she was transferred to a hospital in Glasgow. Her condition was lastly described as serious but stable.