Man dies in car crash on way to grandchild’s birth

A HIGHLAND businessman has died after his car plunged down an embankment on an accident blackspot road as he drove to welcome the birth of his first grandchild.
The A82 at Corrychurrachan. Picture: Geograph.co.ukThe A82 at Corrychurrachan. Picture: Geograph.co.uk
The A82 at Corrychurrachan. Picture: Geograph.co.uk

Douglas Moyes, aged 64, from Wester Ross, was alone in his vehicle when it left the busy A82 trunk road and ploughed into trees at Lochaber.

He was heading to Glasgow where he was due to join wife Nana who had already gone to be with their daughter Mairi who is expecting their first grandchild next week.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The tragic accident happened at Corrychurrachan, about four miles south of Fort William, about 1.15pm on Tuesday.

Residents of the Wester Ross village of Lochcarron, where Mr Moyes ran his electrician business, paid tribute to the “happy-go-lucky” man who was known as ‘Dougie’.

Neighbour Helen Murchison, chairwoman of Lochcarron Community Council, said locals had been left “shocked and devastated” by his death.

She said: “This was their first grandchild and they were so excited about it, so the whole thing has been a terrible blow to the whole community.

“Our thoughts are with the family and we will do everything we can to support them.”

Mrs Murchison said he had a thriving business and was always busy.

She added: “I’ve known him for many years, Dougie was great fun and very popular.

“He would do anything for you and was very good with the old age pensioners. If they had a wee job needing doing, he used to do it for free.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“This is a very sad day for the whole community. It’s been a real blow to everybody here.

“Dougie will be very much missed. This is quite an elderly community and it’s hard to believe that one of the more active members of the community has been taken away.”

Retired Lochcarron butcher Roddy MacLennan, 64, said Mr Moyes was a “stalwart of the community”.

He said: “It is devastating- he was known by everyone in the community for miles around.

“He ran a very successful business in the village and will be very much missed by the business community here.

“He was a real larger than life character- always smiling, always cheery- a happy go lucky sort of guy. It will be a really hard time for everyone here.

“It is tragic for such a small community and especially tragic because he was expecting his first grandchild.

“I know the whole community will be stunned.”

Mr Moyes, who came from Glasgow, moved to Wester Ross to work as an electrician at the Howard Doris Yard at Kishorn in the late 1970s.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He and Nana married and when the yard closed in 1987, the couple stayed in the area and he set up his own business.

Their daughter, Mairi Johan Moyes, is a jewellery designer who lives in the Glasgow area and their son, Jamie, lives in New Zealand.

He is flying home to be with the family.

Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP Dave Thompson, who is an active road-safety campaigner, said: “It is very sad to hear of any deaths on the roads and particularly to hear of another death on the A82.

“My heart goes out to the family at this difficult time.

“This is a very sad day for the community. It’s been a real blow to everybody.

“I will continue to press Transport Scotland to complete the route-improvement plan currently being carried on the A82 south of Fort William, and to implement improvements on the road as soon as they possibly can.”

Meanwhile, the occupants of two cars and a van escaped uninjured when the vehicles were involved in a crash on the A82 yesterday morning.

The accident happened close to the Lodge on the Loch Hotel at Onich just after 9.20am.

An ambulance was called to the scene but not needed.

Related topics: