The family of a 16-year-old who died in a crash near Alness have described him as “a loving son, grandson, boyfriend, nephew, cousin”.
Craig Melville, from Alness, died after the blue Audi RS4 he was a back-seat passenger in lost control and hit a wall on the B9176 Struie Road
A 15-year-old girl and the 39-year-old driver remain in hospital.
In a statement released via the police, Craig’s “devastated” family said: “Craig was a loving son, grandson, boyfriend, nephew, cousin and friend, much loved and is dearly missed.
“The family now wish their privacy respected at this difficult time.”
‘We will feel this loss deeply’
The teenager was a former student of Alness Academy, and left in May last year.
The school’s head teacher Craig Paterson said: “This is terribly sad news that has impacted upon our school community.
“On behalf of the school, I want to extend our deepest sympathies to Craig’s family and friends. Our thoughts are with them at this very sad time.
“As a small community, the school, family and the wider community will feel this loss deeply.”
The Highland Council’s Education and Learning Team is providing support for staff and students at the school, including educational psychologists.
Police say the car was travelling west on the B817 turned right onto the B9176 when it appears to have lost control, crashing into a wall at the Fyrish Substation.
A 22-year-old woman was also initially taken into hospital following the collision, but she has since been released.
Teenage boy, 16, dies and girl, 15, critical after car hits wall in the Highlands
‘The whole community is just devastated
Craig has been described as a “bubbly person” who had “a real knack for mechanics” by the owner of Dornoch MOT Centre where he worked.
Kevin MacLennan said: “We are all just devastated.
“His uncle David worked for us as an MOT tester and mechanic and he had applied for the job through his auntie Tina.
“He had come to us to help. When you are doing MOTs you always need somebody to help to do the lights and to sit in the car and it became apparent very quickly that Craig was capable of a lot more.
“He had a real knack for mechanics.
“From what we witnessed over the last three weeks, we had the opportunity to talk to him about taking on a four-year apprenticeship with us and we had hoped he was going to stay with us and do that.
“We were all just absolutely devastated to hear the news.
“Craig was such a bubbly person and he was always looking to get stuck in and help out.
“It is hard for any family to go through something like this and we are just heartbroken for his family.
“The whole community is just devastated.
“Craig will not only be a huge loss to us but to his family as well. He was such a character and he just loved to be around cars.
“Our deepest sympathies go out to Craig’s family and friends at this tragic time.”
Police seek witnesses and dashcam footage
Sergeant David Miller said: “Our thoughts very much remain with Craig’s family and friends at this time and our investigation into the circumstances around the crash are continuing.
“We continue to appeal to any other road users who were in the area around the time of the incident to please come forward.
“In particular, we would ask any motorists with dash cams to check their footage, as they could have captured an image which could assist us.
“Any small piece of information could prove vital to our inquiries.”
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the police on 101, quoting the reference number 4030 of March 27.
