The teenager who died after his car plunged 50ft into the River Dee has been named locally.
It is understood Dylan Atkinson was on his way to work at around 8am on Monday morning when his red Audi was involved in a crash with a black BMW.
The crash happened less than a mile west of Aboyne on the A93 Aberdeen to Ballater road.
Both vehicles ended up submerged in the icy water, and while the 26-year-old driver of the BMW was airlifted to hospital, Dylan was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 19-year-old trainee mechanic was a former pupil of Aboyne Academy and loved his cars, often sharing photos of them on social media.
He was a talented violinist, with proud parents James and Trish sharing videos of him on stage for Burns Night ceilidhs.
Before Covid hit, he was fundraising for a school trip to Zambia and Botswana.
One friend said: “No one can believe this has happened.”
Police are now appealing for dashcam footage as they try to piece together what happened in the moments leading up to the tragic accident in their investigation.
Tributes to Dylan
The incident has shocked the tight knit community in Aberdeenshire where Dylan was well known and loved.
Local councillor Geva Blackett paid tribute to the victim.
She said: “This is the most awful news and I know many, many people in the area will be devastated at this tragic loss of life, none more so than his poor family who are so much in my thoughts at the moment. It’s desperately sad.”
Jack Edmonstone shared a police post on Facebook confirming the death, commenting: “RIP Dylan, will miss you.”
Jasmine Lindsay also shared the post and said: “Rest in peace sweet boy. I got the news this morning and I just can’t imagine what your family is going through just now and friends.
“There is not a word I can say that will make any of it better. Truly tragic and my heart goes out to everyone. Your brothers, mum, dad. Everyone. I can’t believe it.
She added: “Deeside has suffered a great loss and I’m sure will come together to make sure the family are coping in these unprecedented times.”
Cameron Cruickshank posted on social media: “Fly high brother forever in my heart there’s a special place for you.”
Steve Glass commented: “Still hasn’t sunk in. Absolute legend of a young man. Will be missed by many for sure.”
MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine Andrew Bowie said: “An utterly tragic incident outside Aboyne yesterday. My thoughts and prayers are with Dylan’s friends and family at this heartbreaking time.”
Investigation ongoing near Aboyne
Emergency services were called to the A93 just after 8am on Monday morning – with police, ambulance, fire and coastguards all sending teams to the scene.
Photos from the scene showed Dylan’s red Audi overturned and almost completely submerged, while the black BMW was on the riverbank wall.
The 26-year-old driver of the BMW was airlifted to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, where his condition was earlier described as stable.
The A93 will remain closed overnight with the cars expected to be removed from the river on Tuesday.
The ambulance service – who had two ambulances, a trauma team and specialist operations team (SORT) on scene – confirmed one person had also been taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
Police are now asking anyone who witnessed the crash who has not already spoken to officers to come forward with information as their investigations are ongoing.
Sergeant Eoin Maxwell, from the roads policing unit, said: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the man who died.
“Our investigation is at an early stage and we would appeal to anyone who witnessed the crash, who has not yet spoken to police, to contact us. We are also keen to obtain any dashcam from motorists driving on the road around the time of the crash.”
Anyone with information should call police on 101 with reference 0568 of December 19.
Location of River Dee crash
The A93 is the main road connecting communities across Deeside and the area of road where the crash occurred is a 60mph national speed limit zone, less than a mile from Aboyne’s 30mph zone.
It is the main road for local residents commuting into and out of Aberdeen and is relatively straight.
A bout of snowy and icy conditions has plagued the region in the last week, leading to a number of problems on the roads.
While the weather warmed over Sunday and Monday, leading to some of the snow melting, the roadsides were still white at the time of the crash.
There was mist in the air while emergency services worked at the scene to begin their investigations.
Aberdeenshire Council declined to comment on whether the road had been gritted on Monday morning or was scheduled to be gritted later in the day.
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