Bus driver killed after car skidded

A SCHOOL bus driver from Dundee was killed in a horror crash after a car skidded on ice and hit his vehicle, a sheriff has ruled.

Ian Fordyce, 68, suffered fatal injuries when his bus carrying 13 pupils was hit by an Audi car.

Mr Fordyce had driven buses for 40 years before the accident near the Maryculter Bridge on the B9077 near Aberdeen in December 2017.

Children from Lathallan School, in Johnshaven, were on the singledecker bus at the time of the incident but none suffered any serious injuries.

A fatal accident inquiry at Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard an Audi A7 driven by James Craddock failed to stop and give way at a junction after ice on the surface of the road made braking difficult.

This caused the school bus, a lorry and the Audi to collide with fatal consequences.

Mr Fordyce, who was not wearing a seatbelt, suffered a ruptured artery and fractures of the pelvis, spine, ribs and both legs.

Emergency services raced to the scene but Mr Fordyce could not be saved.

In a written ruling, Sheriff Andrew Miller said: “In my judgment, the dominant cause of this fatal collision was simply the presence of ice on the untreated surface of the unclassified road on its approach to the junction with the B9077, to an extent which Mr Craddock had not anticipated, as a result of which Mr

Craddock was unable to bring his vehicle to a stop at the junction despite driving in an appropriate manner and despite his efforts to bring his vehicle to a stop prior to the junction.”

Sheriff Miller said the “nature of the crushing damage to the front of the coach” was such that “the outcome for Mr Fordyce would most likely have been the same even if he had been wearing his seatbelt”.

The sheriff also said he did not believe Aberdeenshire Council was to blame for the ice on the road.

The inquiry made no formal recommendations.

Following Mr Fordyce’s death, his family said: “Ian, affectionately known as ‘Fingers’ to most of his friends, was very well-known and popular with everyone he met.

“He drove coaches for 40 years and loved every minute of it.

“He will be a sorely missed brother, father, grandfather and friend.”

Ian Fordyce