A biker who died in a horrific crash in Angus on Wednesday has today been named by police.
Roland Bentley, known as Rolly to friends, was 34 and from Arbirlot. He was riding a powerful Suzuki motorbike with a pillion passenger when they collided with a car on the A933 Brechin to Arbroath Road at 3pm.
They were thrown 30ft on to the road in the accident, which happened at Glasterlaw Farm junction, near Friockheim.
Both men were airlifted to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee by helicopter but Mr Bentley died from his injuries.
His passenger, aged 33, and understood to also be from Angus, is fighting for life.
The 73-year-old male driver of the Vauxhall Corsa was also taken for treatment by ambulance.
The pensioner, who is local to the area, was left shaken by the incident, but police confirmed he had not sustained life-threatening injuries and was able to get out of his vehicle on his own.
A police spokesman said: “Mr Bentley’s family are understandably upset by their sudden loss and have said that he will be greatly missed.
“They do not wish to make any further comments and have requested that their privacy is respected at this difficult time.”
The force of the impact left debris strewn across the road, with the red, blue and white bike lying in a twisted heap beside a cottage at the corner of the junction.
Police were seen interviewing a group of bikers at the roadside around an hour-and-a-half after the accident and it is understood they were known to Mr Bentley.
At the scene, Inspector Grant Edward, head of road policing for Angus, said: ”At around 3pm we received a report of a serious road traffic collision involving a Suzuki 750 motorcycle and a Vauxhall Corsa on the A933.
”The two vehicles have collided in the road and both the driver and pillion passenger of the motorcycle have become unseated and were seriously injured.
”The road was blocked off and both men were attended to by the Scottish Ambulance Service and the NHS trauma team. Both casualties were evacuated to Ninewells Hospital.”
The driver of a white Ford Transit was the first person to come across the accident and called the emergency services.
A mobile police incident support unit was quickly at the scene alongside three ambulances and multiple police vehicles.
A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.