The family of a Dundee man who died in a scooter accident have told how they had heard him being taken to a hospital to be checked over just an hour before he died.
Scott Cunningham was riding home from his work at Drumoig Golf Hotel on Friday night when he collided with a parked car in Old Craigie Road.
He rang his mum Linda Young but did not speak to her as two women from nearby houses rushed to his aid and waited with him until paramedics arrived.
Linda, 50, said: “He never spoke. We heard them tell him to lie still. They were putting him in an ambulance. The police then phoned and said he was okay but they were taking him to be checked.”
Scott’s dad Jim Cunningham rushed to Ninewells Hospital and was in accident and emergency on the phone to Scott’s sister Tracey as he was taken in on a trolley.
Tracey said: “He said Scott looked a bit confused and his eyes were open. They told my dad they were doing tests.”
Scott was kept in for a further 45 minutes but tragically died after suffering a “massive heart attack”.
The accident came just days after his 31st birthday.
A post-mortem was to be carried out on Monday to establish the exact cause of death.
Linda said: “We’re just in total shock. It’s been up and down and then the reality just hits you.”
Tracey’s partner Kevin added: “The police were shocked as well. We can’t believe this has happened.”
Scott’s family said he was a well-liked, lovable character.
“He never took anything too seriously,” said Linda. “Everyone seemed to like him. He was a total joker.”
Brought up in the Douglas area of Dundee, Scott went to the local primary school and then Rockwell High before becoming a chef.
“He just fell into it,” Linda said. “My brother Bobby Young was a chef in the navy and he got interested from that.”
Scott had worked at Tonic on Perth Road before starting as a chef at Drumoig just five weeks ago.
He had borrowed a friend’s scooter to get back and forth from the Fife resort and was actually due to give it back on Friday night before heading to see Kevin.
Scott was remembered as Kevin’s “partner in crime”, and Kevin and Tracey said their three children doted on Scott, who they called “Uncle Pot”.
“He was full of life,” Kevin added.