Police have apologised to the family of a teenager after they were wrongly informed he had died in a crash.
The 18-year-old was critically injured in the crash on the A90 near Crimond in Aberdeenshire on Monday, but his family were told he had been killed.
It was actually Dylan Irvine, 19, described as a “loving son, brother and grandson”, who died.
The crash happened between Crimond and the St Fergus gas terminal at around 7.30am on Monday.
Police said officers were faced with a “confused scene, including incorrect information provided by a witness” and that the error was promptly corrected.
Chief Inspector Neil Lumsden said: “Officers at the scene of a crash use every avenue available to help identify those involved as quickly and accurately as possible. This includes using personal effects found at the scene.
“Officers also use various police systems to find out who is the registered keeper of a vehicle, looking at who is insured to drive the vehicle, and checking for any other information that can be found through, for example, the DVLA.
“Finally, crash investigators will also use the information gathered from those involved who are able to identify themselves and others.
“On this occasion, officers were faced with a confused scene, including incorrect information provided by a witness. Once identified, the error was promptly corrected and the families of those involved were spoken to and were understanding of the circumstances.
“We have apologised to the families for any unintended upset and will review to identify any learning.”
Meanwhile, in a statement issued through police, Dylan’s family said: “Dylan was a loving son, brother and grandson, and was loved by all that had the pleasure of knowing him.
“He is sorely missed by all. He had an adventurous and outgoing soul and had the biggest heart.
“Our family would like to thank all of the emergency services for their efforts at the scene and we would ask that our family’s privacy is respected at this difficult time.”
