What should have been a pleasant trip to Deeside has deeply impacted a couple who were forced to flee for their lives after a coach crashed through a wall and struck a tree where they had been sitting.
Richard Keane, 62, and his partner Shirley Stewart, 64, were enjoying a much-needed holiday in Royal Deeside at the weekend.
Heading up from Dunfermline, they had stopped off in Dinnet and taken a seat on a bench under a tree in the main village car park.
As the couple were enjoying a snack, they heard a loud bang from a crash on the A93 road next to the car park.
Richard told The Press and Journal: “We had just sat down for five minutes on the bench when the coach came careering towards us.
“I was looking out over the hills, but Shirley saw it coming over my shoulder.
“We both heard a big bang, and she saw the coach come through the wall, mount the white car and then drive the car towards us.
“It was like something from a Hollywood movie.”
Richard recalled Shirley, originally from Aboyne, shouting at him to run.
He says he is normally quite slow but in that moment he moved incredibly quickly.
Unfortunately, in his panic, Richard says he actually ran into the path of the oncoming coach.
“Thankfully he was able to get out of the way before the vehicle and car struck the tree where the couple had been sitting moments earlier.
Couple forced to run after coach ploughs into bench they were sitting on
He said: “Evening though I got out of the way, there was a lot of debris flying up the car park.
“I thought I was going to get seriously injured.
“Shirley ran away and dived to the side.
“She was upset afterwards because she didn’t see me at that point – all she knew was that she’d seen me run in the wrong direction.
“I managed to dust myself off and head round to where she was.
“I am amazed that no one got hit by a rock or a stone or a bit of car. They were coming at some speed.
“It makes you think that someone’s looking down on you.”
Richard said that if they hadn’t moved away, the coach “would most definitely have hit them”.
He also recalled talking to the man who owned the white car, which was crushed.
Richard said the man had left to walk his dog just minutes before the crash occurred.
Images from the scene show debris from the stone wall scattered around the car park.
The coach can be seen with its front elevated due to it having mounted a parked car.
There was also another car involved in the incident.
Richard had to remain off work due to ‘constant shaking’ due to trauma
Police at the time confirmed there were no serious injuries.
Mr Keane and Ms Stewart were forced to leave their belongings at the bench as the coach and car had come to rest upon the tree.
Some of the couple’s possessions had to be binned as they were covered in petrol that leaked from the vehicles.
He said that in the aftermath of the crash, everything fell silent.
Emergency services soon arrived on the scene, but so shocked were Richard and Shirley that they were desperate to leave.
Richard said he was unable to go to work on Monday as the shock of the incident still had him shaking.
He said Shirley was left “very upset” by the incident.
The couple do, however, hope to put it behind them and return to Deeside in a few weeks.
Police and fire attended at the crash, with motorists and the public urged to avoid the area.
A police spokesperson said there were “no reports of any serious injuries”.
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