Police begin hunt for driver who caused fatal crash on major Edinburgh road
Five-year-old girl is one of three people in hospital
Car thieves pulled over but failed to help as a man died in a fireball they caused before speeding off.
Police have launched a major manhunt after a family of three, including a five-yearold girl, were also hospitalised after the smash on a major road in Edinburgh yesterday.
Debris from the crash and the charred remains of the victim’s Peugeot were strewn across the city’s Maybury Road.
DCI Paul Grainger said: “It’s a traumatic time for both families. One person has died in tragic circumstances and a five year-old child and her family have suffered injuries.”
The stolen grey Audi A3 was overtaking a row of four or five cars on the wrong side of the road causing the family’s BMW to swerve and plough into the dead man’s Peugeot 206.
“It was real recklessness on the part of the people driving the Audi. It was a really dangerous piece of driving,” said DCI Grainger at the scene.
“These people were going about their business in a perfectly normal way. It’s purely the actions of the driver of the Audi that have caused this.
“We’d ask them to come and speak to police and explain what happened.
“The driver of the Audi has stopped briefly and is fully aware of what happened and then driven off with no attempt to help or get assistance from police.
“They have been aware of the seriousness of the accident their reckless driving has caused.” At around 12.30am yesterday, the Audi was seen travelling at speed from the Barnton area towards the Maybury Roundabout when the car drove along the chevron area to overtake a row of traffic.
As the Audi approached the roundabout, it headed into the opposing carriageway, causing the BMW X5 to swerve and collide with the Peugeot 206 travelling in the opposite direction.
The Peugeot burst into flames which firefighters battled to put out but the driver tragically died.
“These people were going about their business in a perfectly normal way. It’s purely the actions of the driver of the Audi that have caused this”