Man fights for life after friends die in crash

Old Dalkeith Road where Sean Allan, top, and Kyle Thomson, centre, were killed. Raymond Thomson is seriously injured. Picture: Andrew O'Brien

Raymond Thomson is in intensive care at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary after the Hyundai in which he was a backseat passenger crashed head-on into a Subaru Impreza on Old Dalkeith Road on Friday night.

Friends of one of the young men who died, 22-year-old Kyle Thomson, have told of their pride that he had signed up as an organ donor and would as a result save the lives of up to five others.

The circumstances of the crash are not yet known but everyone in the Hyundai was killed or critically injured.

Front seat passenger Kyle Thomson, 22, and driver Sean Allan were killed, while it is understood Raymond Thomson has been placed in an induced coma. The driver of the Subaru had to be cut free but his condition is unknown. The cars had been travelling in opposite directions when the crash took place close to a bend on a 30mph stretch of the road.

Friends of Kyle Thomson, a chef from Peebles, and Sean Allan, a father-of-three from Lochend, have paid tribute to the pair.

They said Mr Thomson was an organ donor and that his selfless gesture would now potentially save several lives.

Best friend Euan Forsyth said: “Lost a best mate today, words can’t describe the sadness. But the happy funny memories are the ones I’ll remember.

“RIP Kyle Thomson, you were one of the good guys.”

He added: “So sad. I’m glad he was an organ donor. I’ve seen first hand how much it helps someone’s life.”

School friend Nik Philip said: “It’s amazing he has done that [joined the register] as he will help five other people to live a life and I bet each one of them has something very special as he was amazing to everyone.”

In a statement, Charlene Tweed – the girlfriend of Mr Allan, 24 – described him as a “wonderful partner” and said she had been “utterly destroyed” by his death.

“Sean was a loving father to his three children, Eilidh, Sean and Mason, as well as his step-daughter Sophie, playing a big part in her life for a number of years,” she said. “I am struggling to find the words to describe my grief and would ask that our family be left alone to grieve.”

Police sealed off Old Dalkeith Road between Cameron Toll and the old Post Office building at Bridgend until Saturday morning while specialist teams investigated the crash scene.

Sergeant Ross Drummond urged witnesses to come forward to help piece together the circumstances behind the crash.

He said: “We are still trying to establish exactly what happened to result in this collision and the tragic death of two young men. As such, I would ask motorists who were on Old Dalkeith Road at around 11.10pm on Friday evening and witnessed the collision to contact police immediately.

“In addition, anyone with any further information relevant to our ongoing inquiries is also asked to get in touch.”

The fatal collision in Edinburgh comes as the number of young drivers involved in serious road accidents continues to soar. Every day in Scotland, around 16 drivers aged between 17 and 25 are involved in a crash. One young motorist is killed every week.