The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Three injured as chaos hits weekend A9 traffic
St Johnstone and Caley Thistle footballers delayed by queues
Three people are in hospital after a weekend of traffic chaos on the A9.
A two-vehicle crash north of Dunblane on Saturday caused massive queues stretching back for several miles.
The northbound carriageway was closed just before 12.30pm to allow police to carry out investigations and clear the area of debris. The drivers of both cars were taken by ambulance to Forth Valley Hospital in Larbert.
Traffic moving at a snail’s pace was redirected along rural roads and the stretch was finally cleared and reopened by 5pm.
Meanwhile, a 67-year-old woman is critically ill in Ninewells after the car she was travelling in plunged 16ft down an embankment at Killiecrankie on Friday night.
Both accidents caused extensive traffic delays and even impacted on this weekend’s football fixtures.
Among those held up by the fourvehicle collision at Killiecrankie on Friday was a coachload of Inverness Caledonian Thistle players.
They were heading down the A9 ahead of a Championship match against Queen of the South in Dumfries.
In an interview with BBC Radio Scotland, Caley Thistle manager John Roberston said: “It was a horrific accident and the thoughts of everyone here at Caledonian Thistle are with the families involved and we hope there are no fatalities and that everyone gets better quickly.
“We were there for eight hours. We were at a place in the road where it was impossible for any vehicles to turn, other than cars. So the cars were sent back and we were shunted down the line, closer to where the accident was.”
Mr Robertson said: “It was terrible. Emergency services were running back and forward. As this went on, I could see this was affecting the players. They were upset and stressed.
“The emergency services were great at keeping us up to date. By 9pm, having sat there for six hours, we were getting concerned about the welfare of the players. They hadn’t eaten since 12.30pm and we were being told by police that we could be there until midnight.”
Mr Robertson, who said it was 3am when the team finally arrived in Dumfries, had called for the match to be postponed.
However, he said he received a text from SPFL secretary Ian Blair, saying the game would go ahead regardless. The match ended in a goalless draw.
On Saturday, St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright had to drop Michael O’Halloran and Richard Foster from his starting line-up because they were delayed in queues at Dunblane.
Speaking before the clash with Kilmarnock, the Saints manager said: “I’ve absolutely no sympathy for them. It’s up to them to get here on time.”