Family and classmates grieve for boy, 16, killed in car crash

A HEARTBROKEN father yesterday led tributes to his "loving" son, killed in a crash two weeks before his 17th birthday.

Josh Wilkie died on Monday when the car in which he was a passenger collided with another vehicle.

The teenager and two friends were heading home at the end of the first day of the new school term when the crash happened on the Huntly bypass on the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road.

Josh, a pupil at the Gordon Schools at Huntly, was the first person to die on the roads of north-east Scotland in 2009.

The 17-year-old male driver of the Peugeot 206 in which Josh was travelling and a girl aged 16 escaped with minor injuries after the car left the road and landed on its roof in a field, near the Bin Forest. The 42-year-old woman driver of the other car, a Volvo XC90, was unhurt.

Yesterday, as friends of the schoolboy flooded Josh's internet website page with tributes, his father, Brian, spoke of how his son's death had left the family devastated.

Mr Wilkie, of Insch, said: "We were very lucky to have him and he will never be forgotten. He was a very loving person and loved by everyone who came into contact with him.

"He had a wide circle of friends who were very important to him and he was very loyal and supportive of them."

Josh, who would have turned 17 on 18 January, is also survived by his mother, Anne, sister Pip, 19, and brother William, 14. His death has left the communities of Huntly and Insch in mourning and yesterday counselling was offered to Josh's friends at the Huntly secondary.

Moira Ingleby, the Conservative councillor for the area, said: "This is dreadful, a catastrophic way to start 2009, and I am shocked. My heart goes out to the families of those involved."

Local Liberal Democrat councillor Alastair Ross said: "It's ghastly. I know it's the time of year when accidents are going to happen, but it never lessens the shock. It's a dreadful situation."

And Joanna Strathdee, the local SNP councillor, said: "It's a terrible, terrible tragedy. I feel really sorry for the parents of all three children, because the other two were injured."

Heartbroken friends of Josh posted tribute messages on his Bebo internet page as they struggled to cope with his death.

A spokeswoman at the Gordon Schools said: "Josh was a bright, articulate lad who related well to his fellow seniors. He had an individual sense of humour and enjoyed taking part in school fundraising ventures."

She added: "We have provided counselling and support to fellow pupils and will continue to do so for as long as is required at this difficult time."

The main road between Aberdeen and Moray and the Highlands was closed for more than seven hours while investigators examined the scene.


Safety initiative targets pupils

ACCORDING to the latest statistics, more than a third of the fatalities on the roads of the North-east involve young people.

A total of 37 people died in 2007 on the roads within the Grampian Police force area, and 14 of those were aged 24 and under.

With the backing of the police, the local community safety partnerships have launched a hard-hitting road safety initiative, Safe Drive Stay Alive, specifically aimed at S5 pupils in Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen and Moray.