The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Driver can’t believe his lucky escape
Giant tree fell on to cars at height of storm – both drivers walked away
A driver has spoken of the moment he cheated death as Storm Abigail brought havoc to Tayside and Fife’s roads.
Colin Penny, 53, had been making his way to Cupar at the height of the bad weather on Thursday evening when a giant tree fell on to the A91 on the outskirts of the town.
His white BMW and a silver Toyota Yaris being driven by a woman travelling in the other direction were both struck, although thankfully neither driver suffered serious injuries.
However, Mr Penny conceded that a split second probably meant the difference between him walking away unscathed and a fatal accident.
“We were both extremely lucky and it’s amazing that neither of us were injured or killed,” he told The Courier.
“The tree could well have crushed the other lady’s car completely and I suspect the tree has come down just as she had reached it as her vehicle was masked by the tree as I was driving towards her.
“I think the BMW has smashed the tree in half and I would give a lot of credit to the car manufacturers because that BMW took the full impact of the tree yet I came out undamaged. “It was incredible. “The conditions on the road were just terrible and it was just when that hurricane was blowing right across Fife.
“It was just driving rain, strong winds, and I was deliberately driving very carefully because the conditions were so bad you couldn’t see anything 100 yards in front of you.
“It was very scary but yes, I have been lucky.”
The 38-year-old woman in the Toyota was treated at the scene by paramedics for what police described as a “minor” head injury, but she too was able to walk away.
Mr Penny, who works as an area veterinary manager for farm and livestock pharmaceutical firm Zoetis, had been on his way from his home near Edinburgh to a farmers’ meeting in Cupar – and managed to make it there thanks to a lift from a colleague.
That was just one of several incidents reported as Storm Abigail hit, with a fallen tree also seeing North Road in Saline closed yesterday.
Meanwhile, a missing person triggered an air, sea and land search off the coast of Fife with the storm at its peak.
Search teams from Kinghorn, Leven and St Andrews coastguard along with local police teams, and the Police Scotland helicopter took part.
Kinghorn RNLI lifeboat launched around 7pm and headed to East Wemyss in difficult conditions.
Fortunately the woman was located soon after by the police and the search was stood down.
Helmsman Scott McIlravie said: “The weather was deteriorating as we searched, with hazardous near-shore conditions as waves were breaking.”