Driver tells of his 'miracle' escape from horror crash

A DRIVER has told of his miraculous escape after a truck carrying tonnes of household waste overturned and crashed into his car as he drove home from work.

Tom Stewart's Honda Civic was almost flattened by a 32-tonne lorry which lost control at a busy roundabout off the A801 dual carriageway near Westfield in West Lothian.

The tail end of the lorry caught Mr Stewart's car, crushing his bonnet and windscreen, but he managed to squeeze round the other side before it overturned completely.

The 60-year-old, who is a draughtsman at the BP oil refinery in Grangemouth, said he was counting his lucky stars following the incident where he thought he was a "goner".

He said: "I was just driving up to the roundabout when I saw the lorry starting to go over. It was frightening. There was nothing I could do.

"I really thought my time was up and there was nothing I could do about it. It'll maybe hit me later on what's happened, I don't know. I'll maybe go home and have a few drinks.

"I think my car's a write-off as well. I can't see them fixing it due to the amount of damage, but it's a miracle I'm still here. It's only by good luck or good fortune. I thought I was a goner."

Mr Stewart, who lives in Uddingston, said he only had a few cuts to his hand but his passenger had been taken to hospital with cuts to his arm.

Police said an investigation was under way to discover the cause of the crash, which happened at 12:15pm yesterday.

"There was no indication of serious injury to anyone involved and an investigation is ongoing to find the cause of the collision," a force spokesman said

The waste was being transported to a landfill site owned by Avondale Environment at its site just off the M9 near Polmont.

It was picked up from a West Lothian Council refuse site in Deans, Livingston after being collected from householders' grey bins in the county.

Avondale Environment contracts NWH, which has depots in Dalkeith and Leith to transfer waste to the landfill site.

A spokeswoman for the NWH Group said: "There is always a full investigation carried out into any road traffic incident. We are not in a position to comment further at this moment in time."