Tributes have been paid to a young dad-of-two who was tragically killed in a horror lorry smash on the A9 in the Scottish Highlands.
Thomas Hobson, from Wales, was travelling for work near Alness when his blue Vauxhall Astra collided with a truck on January 4.
Emergency services raced to the scene shortly after 9pm but medics were unable to save the 27-year-old offshore worker.
The driver of the lorry escaped uninjured while the road was closed for seven hours to allow for accident investigation work.
Devastated pals have rallied around Tom’s heartbroken family with a fundraiser launched to help show support for his ‘very young family’.
A statement on the GoFundMe page read: “Our friend, colleague and dedicated family man Thomas Hobson has sadly passed away leaving behind his wife Lucy and two children, Harper and Ralphie who are 5 and 3 years old
“Tom, who was only 27, was travelling for work purposes in Scotland on the evening of 4th of Jan when he was tragically killed in a road traffic accident on the A9 to Inverness which is regarded as Scotland’s most dangerous road.
“Tom was a much-loved character, loved not just by his family, but by all his multinational colleagues.
“He was always full of life and had a constant beaming smile which was infectious to his colleagues, this positive attitude was always on show despite working at times for weeks on end offshore in arduous conditions such as the North Sea.
“The purpose of this Go-fund me appeal is to not just raise money to alleviate a little pressure at this difficult time; but also, to show support to this very young family.”
The fund reached its initial £5000 target within hours with more than £12,000 raised in just a matter of hours.
A police probe into the tragic crash was launched with officers appealing for any other drivers who may have dash cam footage to come forward.
Sergeant David Miller, of the Highlands and Islands Road Policing Unit, said: “Our thoughts go out to the family of those involved in this incident.
“We are appealing to anyone who may have information surrounding the circumstances of the crash to get in contact with officers.
“At the time of the crash, there was a blue vehicle travelling north who may have witnessed the incident and we would ask the driver to speak to police.
“If you have any information that could assist with our investigation, please get in touch.
“I would also appeal to anyone who has dashcam footage to come forward and speak to officers.”
Police Scotland can be contacted by calling 101 and quoting incident number 3301 of Monday, 4 January, 2021.
