'I felt surge of electricity' inquiry into footballer's death told

A MOTORIST has described a freak crash in which his football star passenger was electrocuted.

Fraser Hughes, 24, told how he helped to pull the body of Gordon Lennon, the captain of Dumbarton FC, away from the blazing wreckage of the 4x4 as he feared it would explode.

Mr Lennon, a father of just five months, had been electrocuted and set on fire following the off-roading accident on the Brahan estate in Ross-shire.

Mr Hughes told a fatal accident inquiry at Dingwall Sheriff Court yesterday that Mr Lennon had been his passenger when he crashed into an electricity pylon – snapping it in half and sending 32,000-volt cables crashing on to the vehicle.

He said the wheels had got stuck in a mud rut and pulled him off the track.

"We struck a wooden pole to the front passenger side of my vehicle. The wires came down off the electricity pole and I remember seeing the metalwork that would normally be at the top of the pole coming down.

"I heard the noise of the electricity crackling, and the surge of electricity I felt is difficult to describe," Mr Hughes told the inquiry. "There was sparks and there were flames coming from the front of the vehicle.

"I remember shouting to Gordon to get out because I feared the fire and electricity."

Mr Hughes added: "I got out safely and sprinted away from the vehicle."

However, he soon realised Mr Lennon was not with him and went to find him.

Mr Hughes's brother John, who had been driving behind him with James Hampton, arrived and the three searched for the footballer. They found him lying on his back next to the 4x4, with his head in a ditch at the rear of the vehicle and his leg ablaze.

Mr Lennon died in Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, an hour after the crash, which happened on 7 June, 2009.

The inquiry continues.