Six killed in weekend of carnage on roads

SIX people were killed and ten injured, including five children, in a series road accidents across Scotland during the weekend.

A biker and his female pillion passenger died in a crash yesterday morning on the notorious A9 as hundreds of Harley Davidson enthusiasts were heading home from the annual Thunder in the Glens gathering in Aviemore at the weekend.

It was not known yesterday whether the two people killed had been participating in the event.

The motorbike and a car hit each other near Drumochter, three miles south of Dalwhinnie at around 10:45am.

The emergency services found the biker and his companion dead at the scene, while all four of the car's occupants had to be cut free by firefighters.

They were then flown to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness by air ambulance and a Sea King rescue helicopter from RAF Lossiemouth.

Police said last night that two of the car occupants were in a serious condition.

The road was closed for several hours as officers examined the scene, causing serious traffic congestion with tailbacks stretching for several miles. The Thunder in the Glens event has been an annual rally for the last five years, raising cash for charity.

Meanwhile, a female motorist was killed, two children were seriously hurt and three others injured in a second incident involving a two-car smash on the A92 near Cupar in Fife yesterday afternoon.

The dead woman, who had been driving a Renault Clio, was trapped for almost two hours while fire crews worked to free her.

Once cut from the car, she was airlifted to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee by helicopter.

The four injured, along with a woman who was driving the people carrier they were travelling in, were also taken to Ninewells. Police said the injuries were "varying" but none were thought to be life-threatening.

The accident happened at around 1pm, between the Five Roads roundabout and Forgan roundabout.

A Scottish Ambulance spokesman said: "It was a very traumatic scene, but the emergency services had it under control.

"Two of the children have suffered quite severe injuries, and the female driving the people carrier and the three other children have managed to walk away with minor injuries.

The fourth death occurred on Saturday evening when a teenage motorcyclist was killed when his bike collided with a Range Rover on a farm near Forfar in Angus. The victim was named last night as Callum Alexander Morrison, aged 16, who died at the scene of the accident.

Jamie Berry, 27, from Aberdeen, was killed in a single-vehicle crash in Riverside Drive in the city at about 5:30am on Saturday morning.

William Dawson, 38, from Tillicoultry in Clackmannanshire, died on Saturday when the white Ford Transit van he was driving crashed shortly after midnight.