The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Man, 49, killled in early-morning accident in Fife
PROBE: Slippery conditions may have been factor
A horrific crash claimed the life of a 49-yearold man on a popular Fife coastal route early yesterday morning.
Emergency services were called to the single-vehicle accident on the A921 Kinghorn to Kirkcaldy road at around 7am following reports a VW Polo had struck a railway bridge.
Paramedics battled to save the driver of the vehicle, which had been travelling east towards Kirkcaldy, but he died at Victoria Hospital a short time later.
The road was closed at the junction with the B923 until early afternoon as crash investigators worked to establish the circumstances, amid suggestions the slippery road conditions caused by overnight rain may have been a key factor.
Councillor Kathleen Leslie said: “My thoughts and sympathies are with his family at this terrible time.”
A man has died after his vehicle ploughed into a railway bridge on the main Kinghorn to Kirkcaldy road yesterday morning.
The 49-year-old victim, who has not been named by police, was pronounced dead at Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital despite the efforts of paramedics who battled to save his life at the scene.
The man had been travelling east from Kinghorn towards Kirkcaldy on the A921 when his silver Volkswagen Polo left the road and crashed into the side of the railway bridge at around 7am.
It’s understood no other vehicles were involved.
A large emergency service response – including police, an ambulance and fire engines from Burntisland and Kirkcaldy – attended the scene.
The driver suffered serious injuries and was taken by ambulance the threeand-a-half miles to the nearest hospital, where he died a short time later.
The road was closed at the junction with the B923 Kinghorn Loch road until early afternoon as investigators worked to establish the circumstances surrounding the crash.
It’s thought slippery road conditions caused by overnight rain may have been a factor.
Local Conservative councillor
Kathleen Leslie said the man’s death was “absolutely tragic”. “It has been suggested it was possibly due to the road conditions with the sudden appearance of rain,” she said.
“However, we will need to wait until the police conduct their investigation to establish this.
“My thoughts and sympathies are with his family at this terrible time,” she added.
Members of the public were asked by police to avoid the area throughout the morning as emergency services made the scene safe and recovered the wreckage of the VW Polo.
Motorists and bus services using the route were also diverted via the B9157 and A909 until the road reopened.
The railway bridge was assessed for damage, but it is understood there was no knock-on effect for train services as a result of the accident.
SNP councillor Lesley Backhouse, who represents the Burntisland, Kinghorn and Western Kirkcaldy ward, said: “That roundabout is quite slick even when it hasn’t been raining.
“It also goes from 50mph down to 30mph.
“My thoughts and prayers are for the family and friends of the man that lost his life.”
Anyone who witnessed the collision or has any information which could help police should call 101.