Motorists escape unharmed from nasty A9 smash

Dec 6 2011 by Greg Christison, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

A PREGNANT motorist miraculously escaped serious injury yesterday after a three-vehicle rush-hour smash on a notorious Perthshire stretch of the “killer” A9.

The potentially fatal incident on the southbound carriageway close to the Jubilee Bridge north of Dunkeld saw the woman’s black Mercedes C180 destroyed by flames following a collision with a white Vauxhall Combo van.

Escaping the inferno unscathed, the mum-to-be was taken to Perth Royal Infirmary as a precaution, with the driver of the van, a 27-year-old man, transported to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee with pelvic and chest injuries.

It is believed he was discharged later in the day.

A red Vauxhall Astra was also involved in the collision but its driver was uninjured.

Responding to a call at 8.02am, a Dunkeld-based Tayside Fire and Rescue unit attended the crash site a mile north of Dalguise, where firefighters used two hose reels to extinguish the blaze.

First aid was given to one casualty before an ambulance arrived.

Commuters were diverted whilst emergency services worked at the scene and the road was re-opened at 10.30am.

A spokesperson for Tayside Police said: “Tayside Police would appeal to anyone who witnessed the incident to call them on 0300 111 2222, as they may have information useful to enquiries.”

The crash, which was not thought to be caused by yesterday’s adverse weather conditions, coincided with a welcome from the family of an A9 victim to news from the Scottish Government that the killer road is to be dualled along the entire Perth to Inverness section.

Perth man Steven Strang said he was delighted to hear of the dualling plans but expressed his heartfelt wish that it could have been done earlier.

Mr Strang’s son Colin (21) was killed in a car smash on a single stretch of the A9 near Aviemore in 1996.

Colin’s 21-year-old girlfriend Louise Morrall succumbed to her injuries in hospital.

Police accident investigators concluded that the tragedy was cause by a Frenchman driving on the wrong side of the road and that the accident would not have happened on a dual carriageway.

Mr Strang said that it was the switching of one type of road to another which causes problems, and he welcomed the inclusion of the A9 dualling in the Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Investment Plan which includes a commitment to complete the project by 2025.