A young Kiwi backpacker has told of his heartbreak after his “incredible” girlfriend was hit and killed by a car in front of him on a romantic Highland getaway.
Madison “Maddy” Rice, 21, from Queensland, died last Monday in a collision with a Vauxhall car on Skye as she and her boyfriend Joe Perry hitch-hiked home after a night out.
The pair had been enjoying a day off from the Kinloch Lodge hotel at Sleat where they had been living and working, when tragedy struck near the Sligachan Hotel at about 1.15am.
It has also emerged that that an ambulance driver stopped minutes before the incident to urge the 21-year-old to stop trying to flag down cars in the dark.
The same medic, Neil Campbell, was called out soon afterwards. According to a friend of Mr Campbell’s, he was “shocked and saddened” to find it was the same couple and that the young woman had died.
Joe and Maddy, a beautician, had been friends for a number of years and had worked together at the Hog’s Breath Cafe in Noosa, Australia.
Perry said he was “devastated” at the sudden loss, adding: “Maddy was pretty much my entire life.
“We never did anything apart. There was never a second that passed where I didn’t wish she was by my side.
“She was an absolutely gorgeous bundle of happiness and her smile would turn even the worst of moods.”
“I was lucky enough to be in the most perfect relationship with this incredible girl and we had so much more planned to come. I couldn’t ask for a more amazing person in my life.
“I loved Maddy more than words could describe and consider myself to be the luckiest person alive to be able to spend 24 hours around her.”
He added: “Nothing feels right at the moment, I really am struggling. I just need my other half back.”
At the time of her death, Maddy was living her dream, travelling with her boyfriend, her parents said.
She moved to the UK from Australia and, after living in London, moved to Skye to work at the hotel.
Maddy’s family issued a moving statement to The Press and Journal last week describing how they “fell in love with her soul,” and always had a “big smile” on her face in photographs after moving to Scotland.
A fundraising page was also set up to raise the $20,000 (Australian dolars – £10,350) needed to bring her home as she had no holiday insurance.
Within 24 hours, 471 people had donated more than $27,000 (£14,000) to the cause.
