Fatal A9 crash which stranded commuters for nine hours deemed "worst" incident in years by campaigners

A fatal crash which brought the A9 to a standstill for nine hours leaving commuters stranded has been deemed the “worst” incident on the trunk road in recent years.

Safety campaigner Laura Hansler met with the First Minister in the aftermath of Sunday’s chaos and said there must be an action plan to prevent a repeat of such a catastrophic breakdown in communication.

She told the PA how:

• Young students were among the hundreds of stranded commuters leaving parents frantic;

• The A9 Dual Action Group Facebook page gained 1500 followers desperate for updates;

•Commuters were left scrabbling to find trains to travel on.

Laura, who was flooded with messages as she coordinated the community response, said: “I have been doing this for a number of years but what happened on June 23 was one of the worst I have ever seen.

“We need to have better infrastructure in place to support communities who are on the A9.

“We shouldn’t have to wait until there is another fatal incident to make sure places are prepared.”

Motorcyclist Andrew MacPherson (63), from Cambridgeshire, was killed in the three-vehicle smash on Sunday, June 23 near the Calvine Road junction.

The tragic incident closed a 20-mile section of the A9 near the House of Bruar to Dalwhinnie from 1.30pm to 10pm, leaving hundreds of motorists and travellers in gridlocked traffic.

Ms Hansler met with MSPs and First Minister John Swinney on Tuesday when she made calls for community resilience plans for towns and villages surrounding the A9.

She said: “I have never known there to have been such a breakdown in communication.

“Our Facebook page grew by more than 1500 people at the weekend as no one knew what was happening.

“I had people messaging me constantly who were all stuck in the traffic. I had parents of young people heading to Edinburgh who had no idea where their kids were after they were put off their coach.

“Thankfully we managed to get them on a train and continuing their journey but some people were left stranded and forced to wait hours.

“It was really terrible and it showed that something has to change.”

The Scottish Government has confirmed the contract to dual a six-mile stretch of the A9 would be awarded this month following delay criticisms.

Former First Minister Alex Salmond first committed to fully dualling the A9 by 2025 in 2011.

In December 2023, ministers admitted this was not achievable, saying it would be 2035 before the work could be completed, with Nicola Sturgeon also apologising for the delays.

According to data by Transport Scotland there were 199 injuries and 15 deaths on single-carriage sections of the road over a four year period, compared with 114 and seven, respectively, on dualled sections.

Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser said: “This serious accident on the A9 near Calvine on Sunday is very concerning and my thoughts are with the family and loved ones of Mr MacPherson.

"It was obviously very serious for the road to be closed from 2pm until 9pm, and is the latest in a series of road accidents and fatalities on the A9 Perth to Inverness road.

“As I have said before, and no doubt will again, we will unfortunately continue to see more accidents and deaths on the A9 until this stretch is fully dualled.

"The SNP have let communities in Perthshire and the Highlands down by continually breaking targets and promises and have shown they are not focused on completing the dualling of what is the most dangerous road in Scotland.

“Residents and road safety campaigners have been badly let down by the SNP on this. They deserve a lot better.”

First Minister John Swinney, MSP for Perthshire North, said “one life lost is too many” and said the Scottish Government is “steadfast” in dualling the A9 following the meeting with the A9 Dual Action Group.

The First Minister said: “I was pleased to have the opportunity this afternoon to meet with colleagues across the Parliament and Ms Hansler to discuss the Scottish Government’s plan for dualling the A9.

One life lost on Scotland’s roads is one too many and our sympathies are with all of those who have been affected by any of the recent accidents on Scotland’s road network.

“This essential route through the Highlands must be safe, reliable and resilient – and that is why we continue to be steadfast in our commitment to delivering A9 Dualling.

“This commitment is further demonstrated by the most recent progress made in the programme’s delivery plan, with the publication of the contract notice for the Tay Crossing to Ballinluig section and the anticipated award of the Tomatin to Moy contract in the coming weeks.

“The Scottish Government is utterly focused on achieving the targets set in the delivery plan and it is our intention for construction to roll continually until dualling between Perth and Inverness is complete by the end of 2035.”

Die Huang appeared at Perth Sheriff Court on Tuesday charged with two Road Traffic Act offences, including dangerous driving.

The 50-year-old, whose address was given as Guangdong Province in China, made no plea and was committed for further examination.

Huang was remanded in custody and will appear before the court within the next eight days.

Police are now continuing enquiries to establish the full circumstances of the crash.

Sergeant Willie Strachan from Road Policing said: “Our thoughts very much remain with the family and friends of Mr MacPherson at this difficult time.

“Our enquiries remain ongoing, and I would appeal to anyone who witnessed the crash or who may have dash-cam footage and who hasn’t already spoken to officers to get in touch.”

Anyone with any information is asked to contact 101 quoting incident number 1828 of Sunday, June 23, 2024.