Parents pay tribute to tragic nightclub girl

A WOMAN killed after being hit by a car as she walked home with her boyfriend was an ambitious woman who loved life, her parents said yesterday.

Caroline Cumming died after being hit by a car in Dundee as she returned home from her job yesterday morning.

The 23-year-old from Broughty Ferry was hit by a blue Ford Mondeo in Arbroath Road shortly before 7am as she returned from a shift at a nightclub, police said.

A 17-year-old youth has been arrested, and police are appealing for witnesses to the incident.

Ms Cumming's 24-year-old boyfriend, who has not been named, was also injured in the crash. The man, who is from Forfar, was taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee for treatment to serious leg injuries.

Ms Cumming died at the scene. Her parents, Steve and Val Cumming, yesterday spoke of the family's "complete devastation" over her death.

Mr Cumming, a businessman, said his daughter's life was taken "utterly needlessly".

"Caroline was simply walking home when this appalling incident happened," he said. "She loved life and lived it to the full. Everyone who knew Caroline will understand what I am saying when I say she was very much an individual, very ambitious and every bit her own person. The whole family is devastated."

Ms Cumming had a degree in forensic psychobiology from the University of Abertay Dundee and planned to become a primary schoolteacher. She was employed at the nightclub while she carried out a work experience placement at Eastern Primary School in Broughty Ferry.

Mrs Cumming said that she "couldn't believe" her daughter was gone.

"We didn't get the chance to speak to Caroline after the bells as she had been working," she said.