An A9 accident victim haunted by the death of her husband and granddaughter in a road accident over two years ago has demanded the road be dualled in its entirety as soon as possible.
Paul Anderson (48) and Samantha Jane Carr (4) were the victims of a crash near the Drumochter Pass in July 2008. Mr Anderson’s wife, Melanie, and another granddaughter, then aged two, survived.
Nursery nurse Mrs Anderson (47), from Colne in Lancashire, said she is shocked no action has been taken at the point where a dual carriageway section returns to single lane road.
She said, “We were involved in a four-vehicle accident with two vans and two cars involved and we were the ones who suffered the most. I lost my husband and granddaughter due to driver error.
“I have family members up north and they go up and down that road on a regular basis. I’m petrified there will be another accident but I shouldn’t be because if they put the money into the roads instead of silly things like the trams in Edinburgh, these accidents could be avoided.”
She added, “We need to get it dualled as soon as possible to save lives so they don’t go through what we’ve had to go through.
“The accident happened because a van driver was coming off the dual carriageway section, overtaking, and overshot the chevrons.”
Security van driver Ian Shennan (59), from Elgin, was jailed for two years and four months in July for causing the crash by driving dangerously.
He had tried to overtake another van on the dual carriageway but continued his manoeuvre when the road returned to single lanes, risking a head-on collision with Mr Anderson.Ongoing campaignMr Anderson, who was towing a caravan, tried to swerve, but his vehicle snaked from side and he hit another car. Samantha Jane, in the back seat, was killed instantly and Mr Anderson was airlifted to hospital but died of his injuries.
Mrs Anderson criticised the sentence, claiming Shennan’s sentence should have been twice as long.
She said she is still too traumatised to view the crash site, where there have been accidents since.
Two people died in a three-vehicle crash there in November 2009, a couple died when a motorbike and car collided in August and two months ago an Indian couple were killed in a collision on the road nearby.
In all, 12 people died on the Perth to Inverness section of the road in 2010 up from just four in 2009 and there were also several other non-fatal accidents.
Mrs Anderson said, “I still have family that I visit so I’ve been up the A9 part of the way but not past the accident itself. Those I know who do use the road regularly say it would be much safer if it was dualled.”
Because of its commonly-held status as Scotland’s most dangerous road, a campaign, long backed by The Courier, is ongoing to have the road dualled in its entirety from Perth to Inverness.
Despite over 8000 signatures being collected by an online petition, only small sections have been improved and no timetable has been set for a full programme of work to be done.