Man dies and 23 left hurt after minibus horror
right, A MAN died and 23 adults were injured when a minibus overturned in the Scottish Borders yesterday.
The minibus was believed to have been heading to the last horserace meeting of the year at Kelso when it came off the road at 10.50am.
The coach, which had set off from Newtongrange, ended up on its roof in a field off the road.
The man was declared dead at the crash site on the A6089, between Carfraemill and Gordon, while the driver and 23 other passengers were taken to hospitals in Glasgow and Edinburgh for treatment.
No other vehicle was involved and Police Scotland declared a major incident as they closed the road which has a 60mph speed limit. An air ambulance and fire crew also attended.
David Fulton, 62, a retired BT worker from Edinburgh, saw the crash site as he travelled to the races with his wife Lillian. He said: “The coach was turned over almost on its roof. It was on a slight bend and the sun was very low.
“It looked like the bus had missed the bend and turned over off the road. “It was only fences, there were no walls or anything like that. It was a 60mph road but you’d have to be well below that because of the low sun.
“There were people lying at the side. One older guy was holding something on his face and there was blood.
“There was about four cars on each side of the road that stopped, with people trying to help.”
He added: “When we passed some people were still in the coach and the windows were broken. It’s shocking someone died.”
Chief inspector Steven Duncan said: “We’re providing ongoing support to the family of the man who tragically lost his life, along with those who have been injured and their families. We are currently working to establish the full circumstances surrounding this.”
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said: “Due to the number of passengers requiring assistance, we dispatched a large number of resources. Sadly, there was one male fatality and our thoughts go out to his family.”
‘There were people lying by the bus’