A man says he is “lucky to be alive” after his car overturned and landed on its roof while he was navigating flooded Moray roads.
Darrin Stevenson was driving between Burghead and Alves on Sunday when his Subaru Impreza overturned.
The 33-year-old said he was travelling well below the speed limit when the accident occurred, and has urged other drivers to exercise extreme caution when faced with similar conditions.
Mr Stevenson, who works with the Billy Miller haulage firm, was recovering from the incident at home yesterday.
The Portknockie resident has been suffering pain in his right shoulder and arm since the crash, as a result of his seatbelt – but believes it could have been far more serious if he had been going any faster.
He said: “I had no idea that surface water on the road could cause an accident like that.
“The whole road was flooded from one side to the other and when I hit the water the car went sideways towards the verge.
“There was nothing I could do to stop it, and the car just flipped.
“It was like driving on ice, I had no control of the car at all.
“If it wasn’t for the passenger side making impact first then I don’t think I’d still be here to tell the tale.”
After the crash fellow motorists came to Mr Stevenson’s aid and helped him from his wrecked vehicle.
“I was in shock – what had happened didn’t really kick in until half an hour later so I’m really thankful to the drivers who stopped to help me”, he added.
Mr Stevenson said he took care to moderate his speed in the conditions, and hopes sharing his experience could prevent similar accidents from occurring.
He said: “My car was wrecked in the crash, it’s a write-off, but it could have been much worse.
“I was lower than the speed limit, but any driver approaching waters like that while speeding could be in real trouble.”
A police spokeswoman confirmed: “Just before 6am on Sunday morning we had reports of a one vehicle crash between Elgin and Alves, on the northbound carriageway near Ardgay.
“When officers arrived there was a Subaru Impreza on its roof, and the one male driver was walking wounded.”