A grieving father today paid tribute to his young son and his fiancee who were killed in a motorbike collision.
Steven Reiach, 23, and 24-year-old Dawn Watson died after the orange KTM they were travelling on collided with a grey Alfa Romeo on Hilton Drive in Aberdeen.
Emergency crews arrived at the junction to find Mr Reiach, who had not been wearing a helmet, had died at the scene. Miss Watson, who was a passenger on the bike, was rushed to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary with serious injuries but died on the way to hospital.
The couple, who met at school, had recently moved in together and had a seven-year-old daughter.
Yesterday Mr Reiach’s shocked father, Jim, said the police came to the door of his home to let him know his son had died at 12:30am today.
Mr Reiach said: “”Two police officers were knocking at the door.
“They told me they had some bad news and said that my son Steven had been killed in a motorbike accident.
“It didn’t sink in right away, the police went on and the penny dropped.
“I asked if there was anyone else involved in the crash and they told me a female had died.
“I found out later on it was Dawn, she died on the way to hospital.”
Mr Reiach, of Aberdeen, said he was still struggling to accept that his son and his girlfriend had died in the accident yesterday.
The 67-year-old said his youngest son Steven had visited him shortly before the crash happened.
He said: “He left my house with his motorbike last night. I heard it outside and the last thing I remember saying was ‘I wish you would come off the motorbike all together, I don’t like you on the motorbike’.
“He said ‘yes’, and away he went, and that’s the last time I saw him.
“He had only had it for about three or four months, but he was like a professional motorcyclist.
“I haven’t got a clue how the accident happened. It was just the will of God, one of these things that’s destined to happen. There’s nothing you can do about it.”
The retired taxi driver said the couple had been together on and off since meeting at school and had recently moved in together in a property on the other side of the city.
His son had had a passion for motorbikes since he was a young boy and only bought his KTM a few months ago, although he had been riding friend’s motorbikes for several years.
The grandfather-of-two said his construction worker son doted on his little girl and called her his “little princess”. He said the young parents had seemed happy together.
He said: “They weren’t married but as good as.
“When they were together, they were like two peas in a pod. She had a lovely smile.
“I feel so sorry for Sophie-Leigh their daughter.”
Jim said his son’s girlfriend was not keen on the motorbike and was always telling Steven to get rid of it.
He said: “I was baffled, I couldn’t figure out what she was doing on the back of the bike because she would never go on it.
“Apparently Steven had no crash helmet on and Dawn had the helmet. Steven of course – the big hero – much have told her to use his helmet and not to worry about it.”
Mr Reiach described his son as a popular young man who knew a lot of people and said he expected a lot of people would turn up at his funeral.
He added: “I woke up this morning and then it dawned on me that he was never coming back.
“I still can’t get over Dawn and Steven are gone.”
Floral tributes were left tied to a lamp-post at the scene of the collision yesterday. Police investigation the crash appealed for witnesses to come forward with information.
The couple’s friend Jade Martin, 25, who put flowers down at the site, said: “They were just a lovely, caring family. They did everything together.
“I’ve known them for a lot of years.
“It wasn’t that long ago that Steven proposed to her, this was the happiest they had ever been. They were always laughing and joking.
“They had just got their flat and got it done up. They planned to get married in the future.
“They meant the world to me, I will be completely lost without her.”
Miss Martin, of Aberdeen, described Miss Watson as the “nicest” person you could meet, a great mother who always put her daughter first in her life.