Student describes smash that killed two teenagers

A YOUNG driver has told how he witnessed a crash which killed two friends after they had been out for a family meal.

• Zak Chan and Emily Chan were killed in the crash.

Philip Truong, 22, is on trial at the High Court in Edinburgh accused of racing and causing the death of the two Edinburgh teenagers.

It is alleged that Truong raced with Zak Chan, 18, and that as a result Mr Chan lost control of his car and crashed into a tree, killing him and his girlfriend Emily Chan, 18.

In court yesterday, Alec Tang, 24, a student, said he had been out for a family meal with Truong, Emily, Zak and others and that they had all left together in various different cars to go to a friend's flat. He said he had seen Zak's blue Mazda veer off the road.

He said Truong had been driving a blue Peugeot 206 and estimated that he had been travelling at 40-50mph when the speed limit is 30mph.

Defence advocate Alastair Brown asked Mr Tang if he himself had been racing and he said "no". He asked if Truong and Zak had been racing and Mr Tang replied: "I don't think they were racing."

Gary Young, 46, told the court how the weather on the night of the crash had been bad and there had been a thunderstorm. He said he had been driving when he came across two cars coming in his direction side by side.

He said: "They were going much faster than I would normally experience. I got this intuitive feeling 'I am going to be hit'. I started to break and the car coming towards me the rear end started to lose control."

Mr Young added there had been a loud bang and that was his car impacting with one of the cars coming towards him. He said he got out of his car and turned to see the other car was in a ditch against trees.

Truong, of Southhouse Close, Edinburgh, denies causing the deaths of Mr Chan and Miss Chan by driving dangerously at Comiston Road and Frogston Road West on July 21, 2009. It is alleged that he drove at excessive speed, failed to maintain a safe breaking distance between his car and a car being driven by Mr Chan, overtook at excessive speed, raced with Mr Chan and lost control, and crashed into the car being driven by Mr Young.

The trial in front of Judge Lord Bracadale continues.