Fatal three-truck A9 crash sparks traffic chaos

Dec 24 2010 by Denis Brown, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

A HORROR crash involving three lorries on the A9 near Dunkeld yesterday killed a driver, seriously injured another and created traffic chaos.

About 5.20am in icy sub-zero conditions, a south-bound unladen HGV collided with an unladen north-bound tanker, 200 yards south of the Jubilee Bridge.

It is understood the 57-year-old male driver of the McKays of Montrose HGV died instantly when the tanker clipped his cab.

The south-bound 37-year-old driver of a third lorry carrying canned goods was unable to stop quickly enough and ploughed into the tanker’s rear, but not at high speed, and he escaped relatively unscathed.

Firefighters spent several hours freeing a 23-year-old driver from the mangled tanker cab.

He was treated by a trauma team then transferred to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, while his two male passengers, aged 18 and 19, sustained only minor injuries.

An eyewitness at the scene – which prompted police to close the A9 in either direction – said it was “total carnage”.

“One policeman I spoke to said it looked like a train crash it was that bad,” he said.

“There’s a tanker on its side and wreckage strewn everywhere – really shocking.”

Perth-based firefighter Bill Butterworth, providing incident support at the scene, said it looked as if the tanker had jack-knifed, either during or after the initial collision.

“Conditions were quite poor, the roads were a bit icy and it was about -10C.

“So it was very cold for the firefighters who did a very good job using specialist platforms to reach the cab to extract the trapped driver.

“We often get road traffic collisions involving HGVs but it’s quite unusual to have three. There’s lots of wreckage, with debris spread across a 50 or 60 metre area.”

Tayside road policing boss, Ch Insp Sandy Bowman was still on site at 1.30pm yesterday with a full contingent of officers.

He said it was too early to speculate on the cause of the initial collision.

“This is clearly a very serious incident and our crash scene investigators are presently conducting a full investigation,” he said.

“Once we extract the vehicles from the scene, then the wreckage and fluids will need to be cleaned up and the road surface treated, so at this stage I can’t say when the road will re-open.”

The horrific crash took place ahead of the busiest day for traffic during the festive season, with many people on last-minute shopping excursions or travelling to Christmas Eve destinations.

Police sealed off the northbound lane at Perth’s Inveralmond roundabout, grounding heavy vehicles but diverting cars via the A85 to Gilmerton, then to Aberfeldy and back onto the A9 at Ballinluig.

Southbound cars and light vehicles, meanwhile, were being diverted via the A924 at Pitlochry to Blairgowrie, then onto the A93 to Perth.

HGV drivers in Perth and north of Dunkeld were left with no choice but to await the reopening of the A9.

Murdo Fraser MSP – a staunch campaigner for safety improvements on the killer A9 – expressed his shock at the fatal accident.

“It is extremely sad news and our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of those involved in this terrible accident,” he said.

“The A9 is the most dangerous road in Scotland and this sad event only reinforces the urgent need to dual the road.”

The day before the crash, Mr Fraser, had slammed Perth and Kinross Council (PKC) for allowing the roads network fall into a dreadful state of repair.

Citing Scottish Transport Statistics revealing 35% of A, B and C class roads required maintenance works, he said PKC – the statutory roads authority – had demonstrated an alarming lack of foresight.

“After the recent severe weather in our area, our roads will have taken a battering, so it is even more concerning that over a third of the road network already required maintenance before the snow and ice hit,” he declared.

An ambulance crew en route to Perth alerted emergency services about the crash, with three ambulances, an RAF helicopter and Ninewells trauma team dispatched to the scene, a mile north of Dunkeld.

Tayside Fire and Rescue received a call at 5.29am and deployed crews from Dunkeld, Pitlochry and Perth, including a heavy rescue appliance.

A spokesman said it took several hours and hydraulic cutting equipment to free the 23-year-old tanker driver. The man suffered serious leg injuries and is in a critical condition.