Tears for boy, 16, killed in accident

Car spun off road and landed on roof

By Alison Rennie and Fiona McWhirter

Published:

TRAGIC: Josh was a passenger in the Peugeot 206 which was involved in a crash with a Volvo XC90 on the A96.

PUPIL: Josh Wilkie was in sixth year at The Gordon Schools in Huntly.

A SCHOOLBOY has been killed in a North-east crash.

Josh Wilkie, 16, died when the car he was in spun off the road and landed on its roof in a field.

Friends today flooded the youngster’s website with tributes as they struggled to cope with his death.

And they wrote about leaving a message on his answer machine to say how much they would miss him.

Josh died at the scene of a two-car crash on the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road.

He was a back seat passenger in a northbound Peugeot 206, which was in collision with a southbound Volvo XC90.

Six Grampian Police units, two Grampian Fire and Rescue Service and two Scottish Ambulance Service crews were scrambled to the scene a mile west of Huntly yesterday.

The smash was near Ordbrae Crofts at 3.05pm, after the Peugeot had been travelling from Huntly towards Keith.

Its driver – a 17-year-old man – and a female passenger aged 16 were treated at the Jubilee Hospital in Huntly for minor injuries.

The 42-year-old woman driver of the Volvo, who was believed to be from the Keith area, was not hurt.

Today, friends of the youngster – who was just 11 days away from his 17th birthday – told of their sadness on his internet page.

One said: “Josh . . . this is not just from me but from all of the boys that will be here for you forever.

“We can’t hold our tears in over you, we’ve listened to the songs that remind us of you, and it’s been the most upsetting night that any of us have ever experienced.

“It only happens to the best and we will always be here for you. Our weekends will never be the same without you. You have been one of the greatest mates that any of us could ever ask of.

“We left a message on your phone telling you how much your missed and that we will love you forever mate. The rest of our days will never be the same again. We will Love you forever.”

Josh, a pupil at The Gordon Schools in Huntly, was the first person to die on North-east roads in 2009 after 28 people were killed in smashes last year. Grampian Police roads policing Inspector Scott Mann said inquiries were continuing into the cause of yesterday’s accident.

Meanwhile, police and ambulance crews were called to a crash in the Shielhill area of Bridge of Don at around 7.40am today.

The one-vehicle smash left a van on its side but the driver escaped unhurt.

And three separate crashes happened on the A932 New Leeds to Cortes road before 7am.

No one was injured but police urged motorists to take care and closed the road.

arennie@ajl.co.uk