A COMMUNITY was in mourning last night after a respected and well-loved head teacher was killed in a car crash just yards from her home.
Culter Primary School head Susan Crossan was seriously injured when her Ford Fiesta and a Volks-wagen Beetle collided on a busy north-east road.
She was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary where medics battled to save her life. But the 55-year-old died in the early hours of yesterday.
The woman driver of the Beetle escaped with minor injuries.
Meanwhile, a 55-year-old man is in a serious condition after he was hit by a car on the B9001 between Forgue and Rothienorman at 7pm last night.
The crash which killed Mrs Crossan happened on South Deeside Road just a few hundred yards from her home in Aberdeen’s Leggart Terrace during rush-hour. She was on her way home from the school at Culter at the time.
Last night, her husband, Finlay, paid a heartbreaking tribute to his wife, who had been teaching for 35 years.
He said she had been a “wonderful” mother and grandmother and that it was her passion for teaching and children that had driven her to become a head teacher. “Her loss to our family cannot be adequately put into words,” he said.
Education officials, local councillors and MSPs said Mrs Crossan had been “highly respected” and that they had been left “devastated” by her death.
Aberdeen City Council’s convener of education, culture and sport, Councillor Jenny Laing, said: “This is dreadful news. Susan was well regarded by everyone at the school and she will be sadly missed.”
Classes continued as normal at the 300-pupil primary yesterday.
Councillor Aileen Malone said they were making every effort to keep the youngsters’ routines as normal as possible.
She said that Mrs Crossan’s death would have a devastating effect on the entire Culter community as she had an impact on so many families’ lives.
Mrs Crossan is survived by her 58-year-old husband and their sons Gavin, 35, Andrew, 30, and 27-year-old Neill. She was grandmother to Harry, aged three, and one-year-old Ruby and mother-in-law to Jill and Jamie.
Mr Crossan, a lawyer, said he was proud of everything his wife had achieved. “Susan loved teaching and had been a teacher since 1979, with a break to raise our sons,” he said. “She was passionate about children’s development, which drove her to become a head teacher.
“Susan also loved going to music concerts and followed Aberdeen Football Club.
“She had joined the family at the League Cup final in Glasgow and was delighted to see her team win.
“She was a wonderful wife, mother and grandmother and so proud of the achievements of her children and grandchildren.”
Mrs Crossan was travelling on the B9077 South Deeside Road at around 5.30pm on Wednesday when the head-on smash happened.
Her burgundy-coloured Fiesta ended up on its roof and firefighters had to free both women from their vehicles.
The 58-year-old female driver of the Volkswagen Beetle suffered minor injuries.
Road policing sergeant Ian Falconer said: “Inquiries into the circumstances of the incident are continuing and I am appealing to anyone who witnessed the incident or saw a Ford Fiesta and a Volkswagen Beetle at around 5.30pm on the B9077 South Deeside Road to contact us.”
Following last night’s incident between Forgue and Rothienorman, which involved a Citroën Xsara, a man was flown to the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary by air ambulance with serious injuries.