A cyclist fighting for his life after being hit by a bus on a busy north-east road was spoken to by police on two occasions in the hours leading up the crash, it has been revealed.
Officers provided safety advice to the man after he was seen walking with a bicycle on the central reservation of the A90 near Stonehaven, at 3pm yesterday.
And 40 minutes later, police spoke to him again before driving him to Stonehaven, where he told officers he would catch a bus to Aberdeen.
At 7.40pm officers received further reports of a man cycling on the A90 near Muchalls, however they were unable to find him.
Just under an hour later he was hit by a double-decker megabus.
The 43-year-old was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary with life-threatening injuries.
Roads Policing Sergeant Steve Manson, who is leading the investigation into the circumstances, said: “We are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the collision or seen a pedal cyclist on the A90 prior to the incident to contact police as soon as possible on 101.
“Shortly after 3pm police received a report of a man with a bicycle walking on the central reservation of the A90 near Stonehaven.
“Police attended and the man was given suitable advice.
“Shortly before 3.40pm police received a further report of a man with a bicycle walking northbound on the A90 near Stonehaven.
“He was traced by police and taken to Stonehaven where he advised that he would get a bus to Aberdeen.
“At around 7.40pm there were further reports to police of a man wearing dark clothing, cycling north on the A90 near Muchalls, Stonehaven.
“Police were unable to trace the cyclist at this time.
“Around 8.30 pm, a report was received of a cyclist having been involved in a collision. Police and ambulance attended.
“I would urge anyone with information or who saw a cyclist on the A90 near Stonehaven wearing dark clothing and riding a dark coloured pedal cycle, particularly near to the time of the collision or who saw a man matching this description pushing a bike to contact officers as soon as possible.”