Backpacker killed as she thumbs a lif t
A YOUNG Australian hotel worker has been killed after being hit by a car while hitchhiking home with her boyfriend.
Madison Rice, 21, had been living and working in Scotland with her partner Joe Perry and had been enjoying a day off when tragedy struck on the main road through Skye, on Monday.
The couple were believed to be returning to the Kinloch Lodge hotel in Sleat, where Miss Rice worked front-of-house, when she was struck by a Vauxhall car.
The accident happened on the A87 near the Sligachan Hotel at 1.15am. The male driver was uninjured.
Miss Rice was understood to be from Noosa in Queensland, while Mr Perry is from Auckland, New Zealand.
Since travelling to the UK, Miss Rice is believed to have worked as a beauty therapist in London, before moving to Skye to work at the hotel.
Staff at Kinloch Lodge have been left devastated by the young woman’s death. Isabella Macdonald, director at the hotel, said: ‘It is absolutely heartbreaking. We are all utterly devastated at the tragic and sudden loss of Maddy. She was devoted to her wonderful partner Joe, and our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to him and her family. She was a wonderful and beaupicture tiful person as well as being an incredibly hard-working member of our team.’
Mr Perry updated his Facebook cover photo on Monday with a of himself and Maddy. A police spokesman said: ‘Anyone who has information that could assist officers with their inquiries into the collision should contact Police Scotland on 101.’
Skye councillor John Gordon said: ‘It’s sad that a young couple’s day off from work should end in such tragedy and it’s hard to comprehend what her family are going through, but our thoughts and prayers are with them.’
Fellow councillor Drew Millar said: ‘I heard there was a couple of people walking on the road. There is a little quarry about a quarter of a mile from Sligachan Hotel, I believe that is where it happened. It is another tragedy on Skye.
‘In the last three weeks two young people have been killed on the roads. The scene of the latest accident is on a good bit of road; the road has recently been resurfaced.’
Three weeks ago 24-year-old Kirsty Johnston, from Portree, was killed on the A87 Kyle to Uig road.
She was cut free from the wreckage of the vehicle by firefighters and airlifted to hospital but died later.
‘It’s hard to comprehend’