Mum and young son’s terror as Champagne bottle strikes windscreen on city bypass

A mum has spoken of her terror at the moment a champagne bottle struck her windscreen - narrowly missing her and her young son - as their car was hurtling along the Edinburgh City Bypass.

Fiona Gray, 45, from Fife, was travelling along the bypass near Hermiston Gait at around 3.55pm on Friday when the deadly object suddenly smashed into her vehicle.

It is understood the glass bottle was hurled from a bridge on the city bypass directly into the oncoming eastbound traffic.

Photographs shared on social media show Fiona’s wrecked windscreen with a large hole in its centre, illustrating how the heavy projectile could have potentially fatally injured her or her six-year-old boy.

The mum, whose car was going at around 60-70mph at the moment of impact, said she and her family were making their way down to the Borders for a weekend break.

Speaking to the Scottish Sun Online, Fiona, who has been left bloodied and bruised down one side, slammed the yobs responsible and said she and her son Jacob were in tears after the shocking incident.

She commented: “I was headed from Dalgety Bay to the Borders for the weekend.

“As I was driving I heard a horrific noise and then my face was covered in stuff and I felt fresh air.

“I had no idea what was going on but I felt a pain in my side above my waist as it hit my ribs.

“My son Jacob was crying, all upset, and there was a bottle at my feet.

“That’s where I realised it had been thrown off a bridge and smashed square through my windscreen.

“There was glass everywhere.

“Had it been inches to the left it would’ve hit me in the face and would’ve been game over for me.

“If it’d went to the right it could’ve deflected into Jacob’s face in the back seat.

“We know what would’ve happened if it had shattered inside the car.

“It’s an incredible escape, if I didn’t believe I have a guardian angel before, I do now.”

In a social media post, Fiona said she felt “oh so lucky” to have walked away from the incident albeit showered in glass and with a “sore and bloodied side”.

She added: “We were showered with glass and I’ve got a sore and bloodied side. But lucky. Oh so lucky.

“Police are going to put a plea out on social media for dash cam footage so they can get the b*****d. Chances are slim.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “At around 3.55pm on Friday May 10, police were called to a report of a bottle been thrown off a bridge on the Edinburgh Bypass.

“It struck a vehicle heading eastbound on the A720 near the Hermiston Gait junction.

“No-one was injured but inquiries are ongoing.”

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