An “extremely popular” bus driver died in a serious three-vehicle smash at a busy junction as he took pupils to their private school early yesterday morning.
The 13 shocked children on board escaped with cuts and bruises and clambered to safety through an emergency exit after their coach and a lorry were involved in a head-on collision.
Police are investigating conditions at the time of the stretch of the South Deeside Road close to Maryculter Bridge had been treated – as the freezing conditions continued to cause accidents across the region.
Two male drivers were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries: the 56-year-old truck driver and the 40-year-old man behind the wheel of an Audi A3 that was also badly damaged.
But the 68-year-old bus driver, who regularly ferried the pupils to and from Lathallan School in Johnshaven, died at the scene.
The school said the victim – who has not been named by police – was a “larger than life” character who was well-known and liked by its pupils.
And they revealed that all those who were on board heading in for the last day of school before the Christmas holidays – and any others affected by the tragedy – had been offered counselling.
When emergency services arrived on the scene shortly before 8am, they found the fire escape of the MW Nicoll Hirers bus open and the 13 pupils outside the vehicle.
Last night Richard Toley, the headmaster of Lathallan confirmed that none of the pupils, who were a mix of both primary and secondary ages, sustained serious injuries.
“All pupils are now with their parents,” he said.
“We have been informed by Police Scotland that the driver has sadly passed away.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, he was a larger than life character who was extremely popular with our pupils.
“He will be missed by us all.”
A spokeswoman for the school said last night: “After the crash, the ambulance crew were in attendance to make sure any minor injuries were dealt with and parents collected the children – none of them came to school.
“Our pastoral care teacher has called all of the parents today to see how the children are doing after the incident this morning, and we will be offering children counselling.
“It’s actually our last day of term today, so some of the staff won’t be here over the holidays, but the headmaster and a few other staff members will be monitoring the situation and will be on hand over the holidays if parents have any concerns.
“He was our regular bus driver, and was very well known to the children.”
South Deeside Road was closed between the B979 Netherley Road and Leggart Terrace for several hours while the emergency services dealt with the casualties and investigated the causes of the crash.
A spokesman for Laurencekirk-based MW Nicoll said: “At around 07.45am, one of our coaches was involved in a three vehicle collision on South Deeside Road near Maryculter Bridge.
“Thirteen children and our driver were on board at the time.
“We know that the children are all safe, however, sadly, the driver passed away from his injuries.
“The thoughts of our whole team are with the driver’s friends and family on this awful occasion.
“We are working with Police Scotland and all the authorities during the investigation, and would like to thank the emergency services for their help this morning.”
A spokeswoman for Aberdeenshire Council said the authority would not comment on the state of the road while a police investigation was underway.
Inspector Neil Morrison said police have taken the condition of the road into consideration.
He said: “Sadly the driver of the coach died of his injuries at the scene.
“Any collision of this nature is traumatic and our thoughts are with those involved.
“It’s been cold, the road surface is a consideration for us.”
A police spokeswoman said: “If anyone witnessed the collision or either of the vehicles prior to the incident and has not yet spoken to officers, please call Police Scotland.”
The police can be called on 101.