Capital businessman critical after horror car crash in Oz

Nick Lonie suffered serious head injuries and has been put in a medically-induced coma following an accident near to the city of Perth.

It is thought another person was killed in the crash in the coastal suburb of Fremantle.

The 33-year-old, who works for the London utilities consultancy Onzo, is understood to have moved to the country as part of his role as business development director for Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific.

Mr Lonie’s father, Edward Duncan Lonie, a city property developer and a director of the Edinburgh International Jazz Festival, from Ravelston, flew to Perth with his wife after the accident on August 21 and remains by his son’s hospital bed.

Friends of the family said although details of the accident were still unclear, Mr Lonie was in a stable condition in intensive care.

When contacted by the Evening News, Andy Craig, Mr Lonie’s former flatmate, said: “All we know is that he was involved in a serious accident and sustained head injuries.

“He is in an induced coma and has been since last Sunday. The doctors are continuing to manage his coma. That’s the situation at the moment.

“I’ve been getting daily updates and his condition is currently stable which is a good thing. I believe his mum and dad went out there the day after it happened and are with him now.”

Brian Fallon, a former city councillor who serves on the jazz festival board with Mr Lonie snr, said: “I just hope Duncan’s son pulls through. My thoughts are with his family and I’m sure everyone on the board of the jazz festival feels the same.”

Prior to working for Onzo, Mr Lonie, a former Edinburgh Academy pupil, co-founded the design engineering consultancy 4c Design, and was named a former Young Entrepreneur of the Year and the Sunday Times’ “Next big thing”.

He also worked for Peak Leaders, which organises ski-instructor courses around the world.

Mr Lonie and Mr Craig hit the headlines in 2008 when they successfully drove a Land Rover 15,000 miles from Edinburgh to Cape Town to raise cash for Mercy Corps, the international disaster relief agency which is based in the Capital.

At the time Mr Lonie said: “Both of us share a passion for adventure, travel and sports so we thought this would be an incredible way to visit parts of the world we otherwise would never have the opportunity to see. Hopefully we’ll learn to cope with each other’s bad habits along the way.”

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