A “true family man” from Sutherland has died after being crushed under his own car in a home workshop.
Despite the heroic efforts of his wife Rhoda and 14-year-old son Lee to resuscitate him, as well as those of paramedics and doctors, Rogart man Johnny Ross died from his injuries in hospital two days later.
The 51-year-old builder and father of four had been working on his favourite car, a Mini, when the vehicle slid off a 7ft ramp in his workshop and trapped him.
Yesterday his brother Mackie Ross told the Press and Journal that he was proud of his nephew Lee’s quick reactions to use a jack to lift the car and pull his father out, before carrying out CPR on him for about 20 minutes.
Mr Ross was too upset to speak about his brother yesterday but introduced the Press and Journal to two close family friends, Seumas and Rachel Allan, who gave a tribute on the family’s behalf.
It read: “The community of Rogart has been shocked and saddened by the tragic death of Johnny Ross.
“Despite the heroic efforts of his wife Rhoda and eldest son Lee to resuscitate him, and the quick arrival of neighbours and the emergency services, Johnny died from his injuries in hospital in Inverness on Sunday.
“Rogart has been robbed too soon of a real character, a true family man – one of a kind. A member of the community council, Johnny was involved in everything in the village. A man who would help anyone with an instant “no problem”, he was your man. He will be greatly missed”.
Mr Allan went on to say that Johnny was a builder to trade and was known as “Hen” because of a quirky logo on the back of his pick-up truck of a hen wearing a helmet and driving a bulldozer.
He said that Johnny, who lived at 2 Achnagarron, was the kind of man who helped a lot of people in Rogart with all sorts, from farm work to building a dry stone wall, fixing a car to pruning a garden.
Mr Allan also recalled a number of fond tales about Mr Ross, who he said was a close lifelong friend of his son, Jeremy, and “lived life to the full”.
He alluded to a time about 20 years ago when Johnny went hand-gliding as a beginner with a group of friends up Ben Bhraggie, a hill at Golspie, and crashed when he thought he was getting too close to a pylon line.
As Johnny turned the glider round he aimed for a patch of heather but ended up in a small quarry, a misjudgment which resulted in an outburst of profanities and left the rest of the group in fits of laughter, with everything being heard through a microphone and headphones.
Mr Allan also fondly recalled Johnny’s kindness when, during a winter power cut about five years ago he went round the homes of several older people in the community to give them his spare generators.
Mr Allan’s statement also extended sympathies on behalf of the community to Johnny’s wife, Rhoda, daughters Shannon and Julie and sons Lee and Ryan, and the extended family.
Johnny Ross’s tragic accident happened last Friday shortly before emergency services were called to the scene at about 4.30pm.
Fire crews – one each from Golspie and Lairg – and a heavy rescue unit from Inverness were alerted, but only the Golspie appliance attended.
A fire service spokesman said that firefighters assisted paramedics at the scene with the Mr Ross, who was taken by road ambulance to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.
Mr Ross died on Sunday in hospital and his funeral will take place in the workshop at his home at 11am on Saturday, before moving on to Rogart cemetery.
Donations may be given to the intensive care unit at Raigmore Hospital, Lairg and Golspie fire brigade, the Scottish air ambulance and ambulance service.
