The fiancee of a darts star killed in a Highland road crash was on her hen night when his car collided with a pick-up truck.
Father-of-four Brian Whyte had been due to get married next month and was on the verge of his Scotland debut after being called up to the national set-up.
He had said that 2014 was going to be “his year” – but instead of celebration, his heartbroken family are mourning the loss of a “brilliant father”.
Last night, his partner – Dawn Gordon – led tributes to the 34-year-old, saying the response of his local community in Spean Bridge, Lochaber, was “overwhelming”.
“I’m going to miss him so much,” she said.
The HGV mechanic died after the car he was driving collided with a Ford Transit pick-up vehicle on the A82 Inverness to Fort William road on Friday afternoon.
The couple have four children, Cameron, 11, Tyler, 9, Innes, 7, and three-year-old Katlyn.
Miss Gordon had just arrived in Inverness for her hen weekend when she heard the A82 had been closed due to an accident.
She said: “I was trying to get in touch with him, but I couldn’t contact him.
“I immediately thought it must have been him in the accident.
“Bryan was attached to his iPhone and always answered it, so when he didn’t answer, I knew it was him as he was driving home from work to collect one of the children from school at that time.”
The couple, who had been together for 13 years, were due to marry at St Margaret’s Church in Roy Bridge on Saturday, April 12.
Mr Whyte’s stag night was planned for Thursday.
Miss Gordon added: “He kept me safe. He looked after me all the time and he was a brilliant father.”
Mr Whyte, who played darts for Inverness’s Portland A Team, only heard that he had been picked to play for his country on Monday of last week.
Miss Gordon said her fiance had been very excited at the news.
She said: “He was over the moon. He was jumping about the house. He was really looking forward to the first game in Halifax on April 5 and 6.”
She added that he was a very competitive person and had also played shinty and golf.
“He played shinty for Invergarry, Kilmallie and Lochaber, but gave it up when he started playing darts about six years ago.
“He was also a talented at golf and won a few golf championships,” said Miss Gordon.
And she thanked family, friends and the wider community for their condolences and support, which she described as “overwhelming”.
Among the tributes left at the crash scene on the A82 at Torlundy, near the entrance to Inverlochy Castle Hotel, was a Scottish flag, with a message referring to Mr Whyte as a “truly great friend”. And hundreds of friends, family members and acquaintances left moving messages for him on social networking sites.
Yesterday, the Saltire was draped across branches at the scene of the accident, with four bouquets, including one of red, white and blue flowers.
The message on the flag said: “Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave and impossible to forget.”
And, tucked into another bunch of flowers, there was a card depicting the Scottish flag and the words to “Flower of Scotland”.
Police are asking anyone who witnessed the accident to contact them by calling 101.