Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘Our family is broken and it will never heal’: Parents of Aboyne crash victim Dylan Atkinson, 19, pay tribute to son

Dylan Atkinson, who will be remembered for this enthusiasm for life. Submitted.
Dylan Atkinson, who will be remembered for this enthusiasm for life. Submitted.

The family of Dylan Atkinson, who was killed in a crash near Aboyne this week, have said they will never heal from the pain of his loss.

The 19-year-old died on Monday after his car plunged into the icy waters of the River Dee near the Aberdeenshire village.

He is believed to have been on his way to work at around 8am when his red Audi was involved in a crash with a black BMW on the A93 Aberdeen to Ballater road.

His parents, James and Trish Atkinson, have now paid tribute to their son, saying their “family is broken and will never heal” – but their hearts remain “full of love”.

Dylan Atkinson tributes
Floral tributes at the scene of the crash near Aboyne. Picture: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson

In an emotional statement released by police today, they said: “There are no words. There is no tomorrow. There is only now. There is no escape, there is only pain.

“Dylan was our life and his irrepressible enthusiasm and energy will continue in our hearts and of those who knew him well.

“Our family is broken and it will never heal, it will just change. Our hearts are full of love and that will always stay.

“Everyone’s thoughts, messages and support are a comfort and please know how much that means to us all.”

Floral tributes have been left on the riverbank where Dylan Atkinson died on Monday. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson.

Mr Atkinson was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, while the 26-year-old driver of the BMW was airlifted to hospital. His condition has been described as stable.

Tributes have since poured in for the former Aboyne Academy pupil, who was a talented violist and was know for his passion for cars among his peers.

Earlier this week, Mr Atkinson was described an “absolute legend of a young man”, who will be sorely missed by the close-knit community in Aboyne.

Police investigation for clues

The crash happened at around 8am on Monday, less than a mile west of Aboyne on the A93 Aberdeen to Ballater road.

Photos from the scene showed Mr Atkinson’s red Audi overturned and almost completely submerged, while the black BMW was on the riverbank wall.

The road between Aboyne and Dinnet was closed until around 5pm yesterday, with the vehicles still to be recovered.

Police divers were out on the River Dee today to check if the two cars involved in the tragic crash can be removed from the water after the operation was called of yesterday.

Members of the police have used canoes to check on the submerged vehicles and water levels of the River Dee today. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson

Both have been completely submerged in the river due to the rising water levels from melting snow upstream.

Sergeant Eoin Maxwell, from the north-east road policing unit, said: “Our thoughts remain with Dylan’s family and friends at this difficult time.

“Our investigation into the collision is continuing. I would urge any witnesses or anyone with information, who has not yet spoken to police, to contact us.

“We are also keen to obtain any dashcam footage from motorists who were driving on this road around 8am on Monday morning.

“Anyone with information should contact officers through 101 with reference 0568 of December 19.”

Conversation