Second tragedy at Fife blackspot

WINDYGATES: Man killed near scene of earlier fatal crash

Tragedy struck on a Fife road for the second time in just four months yesterday after a man was killed in an early morning crash.

The driver of a blue Ford Focus was pronounced dead at the scene on the A911 between Windygates and Glenrothes shortly after the accident was reported by a member of the public at 3.40am.

The road was closed for around 12 hours as crash investigators launched their probe into the tragedy, although police believe the dead man was the sole occupant of the vehicle which came to rest in a field near Balfour Place in

Milton of Balgonie.

The crash has prompted renewed calls for safety to be looked at along the route – just over four months on from the death of a 36-year-old pedestrian near the Windygates junction.

A driver has died following an early morning crash on a busy Fife road.

The tragedy is the second fatality on the A911 between Glenrothes and Windygates in just over four months.

Emergency services raced to the accident site near Milton of Balgonie at around 3.40am on Monday.

They found a car, believed to be a blue Ford Focus, had left the road and landed in a field of wheat near the junction to Balfour Place.

The male driver, who not been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene. The road was closed for several hours as investigators scoured the wreckage for clues.

Drivers were asked to avoid the area and bus services were diverted via Star. The road was reopened at around 2pm.

Ross Vettraino, SNP councillor for Glenrothes Central and Thornton, said the thoughts of everyone in the local community were with the family.

“When it comes to a fatality, no matter what the reason, it’s one too many,” he said. “Our thoughts are absolutely with the gentleman’s family.

“You can say you’re profoundly sorry but that doesn’t begin to meet what the family must be feeling.

“There are no words that sufficiently convey the huge tragedy now facing this family and their loved ones.”

Mr Vettraino said he wanted to remind people that figures had shown the roads in Fife are safer than they have ever been in the past.

“When you bear in mind the huge explosion of traffic there has been in recent years, that’s truly incredible, and it’s down to the combined road traffic management policies that have been introduced by Fife Council over the years,” he added.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “Officers were called at 3.40am to the one-car collision.

“Inquiries are ongoing into the full circumstances.”

The same stretch of road was the scene of another late-night road accident on March 6.

Cardenden man David Moore is thought to have been walking towards Glenrothes at around 10.35pm when he was struck from behind by an Audi.

The 36-year-old sustained devastating injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene near the Durie Vale roundabout by ambulance staff.

There are no words to convey the tragedy facing this family

Picture: David Wardle. The wreckage of the car lies in a wheat field near Milton of Balgonie with the scene of the accident cordoned off as police begin their investigation into the cause.