An Aberdeen man remains in a critical but stable condition following a bus crash in Malta last Monday.
Relatives of Simon Morrison returned to Aberdeen last night to try and get back to “some kind of normality” but other family members have flown out to the Mediterranean island to keep a bedside vigil.
Mr Morrison had arrived on the island the day before the accident with his sister Suzanne Henderson, her husband Michael and their two children, Kelsey and Kieran, to enjoy a relaxing family holiday.
The group were, however, on board an open-top sightseeing bus which crashed into a tree, killing two other tourists sitting directly behind Mr Morrison and his nephew Kieran.
Last night, back in Aberdeen, Michael Henderson described the scenes of horror after the crash, but said they “still have no memory” of how it actually happened.
He said: “We were just driving along and the next think I know is that I’m waking up to see Simon’s head wound. I thought he was dead.
“The doctors weren’t sure what had caused his wounds – whether it was the branch of the tree or the yellow metal bar that was ripped from the side of the bus.
“His head was completely open right to the bone. I’ll never forget it.”
Mr Morrison is still in an induced coma but has had his oxygen levels reduced from 100 per cent to 75, which his brother-in-law Mr Henderson said was “encouraging”.
“I think they are happy with his progress, but it is still early days,” he said.
“The Maltese people were amazing, especially all the hospital staff.
“I had been knocked out too, so I was kept in overnight.”
Mr Henderson said he had been interviewed on the day of the accident as an accident inquiry started immediately.
The group had been touring the town of Sliema and had decided to wait for the last bus of the day to take them back.
Mr Henderson said: “We were going to get the one o’clock bus, but decided to sit and relax at a bar and get the 2 o’clock one instead.
“The driver turned up late, at about ten past two and going by the timetable he was running behind schedule.
“Suzie thinks he was going too fast, but I really can’t remember.
“Simon was first on and he chose where he was sitting. It could have been so different if we’d sat somewhere else.”
Mr Morrison had recently recovered from a stroke and had returned to Middlefield Wasps to coach one of the youth teams.
Mr Henderson said he was planning to return to Malta soon to ensure someone was with Mr Morrison when he wakes up, adding: “We wanted to make sure the kids get back to normality, I’ve never wanted to get home so much from a holiday before.”
Support for Simon Morrison
Members of Mr Morrison’s football team have banded together to support their coach and his family in their time of need.
Three of his players, Matty Watson, Jack Donald and Morgan Robertson are hoping to raise £500 to assist Mr Morrison by cycling from Aberdeen to Edinburgh.
And the club itself has launched an online fundraiser, seeking to raise £3,000 to help Mr Morrison and his family pay for any unexpected costs.
A statement from the team said: “Simon has been a Middlefield coach on and off since the 1990s.
“This season, he has been coaching the under 19s after coaching alongside Mark McCready to win the league last year with the under 17s.
“Simon was involved in a tourist bus crash in Malta at the start of this week.
“He has sustained various injuries and is currently still in hospital in Malta.
“As a club, we have decided to raise funds to help support Simon and his family in this time of crisis.”
To donate to the fundraiser, visit www.justgiving.com and search for Simon Morrison Middlefield Wasps.