‘Someone had been hit by a car ... then I saw mum’s handbag and knew it was her’

“AS I looked down and saw someone had been hit by a car, I thought I’ll need to tell my mum — then I saw her distinctive bag and realised it was her.”

Morag Stormont was picking her mother Barbara, 81, up from the hairdressers.

It had been part of a motherand-daughter routine for the last two-and-half years — but nothing could prepare Morag for the time she went to collect her mother on September 15.

As the civil servant pulled up to the shop, she noticed there had been accident.

Within a “split second”, she realised it was her own mother who was injured.

Barbara, a full-time carer, had been crossing Keptie Street in Arbroath when she was struck by a vehicle.

She was taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, but eventually died as a result of her injuries.

Morag has spoken for the first time about the accident to the Tele in a bid to improve road safety for pedestrians.

Morag, 53, said: “It all seemed to happen in a split second. When I realised it was mum, I started screaming. I ran from my car and people were keeping me away from the accident. They took me into a charity shop.”

Morag was ushered into the business, just yards away from where the incident happened, and “frantically” tried to contact family members.

She added: “The staff from all the businesses on the day were fantastic. I remember looking out of the window at the charity shop and someone was cradling mum’s head — it was awful.

“There were loads of people around her. Someone said to me ‘don’t worry we have called an ambulance’ but the ambulance took more than 40 minutes to arrive.

“I have no idea what the delay was but it was a dreadful time — my mother was dying on the road.”

Barbara was taken to Ninewells where she was placed into an induced coma. However, the mumof-three died in hospital.

The death, Morag said, has had a detrimental impact on the health of Barbara’s husband, Angus, 85, with Morag adding: “My dad suffers from dementia but mum was so sprightly. She had a hip operation in January. We never really worried about mum’s health. Her passing has devastated our family.

“She was dad’s primary carer and had been for the past six years. After mum passed, he was asking where’s your mum? Where’s Barbara?’ Dad’s health has deteriorated since mum’s passing.”

As the family continues to grieve and focus on their father, Morag has contacted her local MP Mike Weir to address the “dangerous road” where her mother lost her life.

She added: “I don’t want any other family to have to go through this. The street has been a cause for concern for a number of years now.

“Ideally there should be a crossing system in place where my mother was knocked down.

“At the very minimum, there should be speedbumps introduced to try to ensure drivers reduce their speed.

“This isn’t an attack on the driver that was involved on the day but I’m going to ensure this is part of mum’s legacy, that procedures are put in place to improve the road’s safety.”