Man found dead after car crash in Shetland

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Map of Scotland with Shetland Islands highlighted in dark blue.

A man has been killed after a crash in Shetland, off the north-east coast of Scotland. 66-year-old James Leask, known locally as James Coal, was driving a rented Renault Clio on a countryside road between Laxfirth and Vatster when he crashed the vehicle.

According to the Northern Constabulary, the vehicle lost control due to icy road conditions. The burnt-out car was discovered by the police at approximately 0600 UTC on Saturday. A statement issued by Northern Constabulary says that an "extensive search in blizzard conditions" was initiated to find Leask.

A variety of techniques were used, including door-to-door enquiries, checks on public transport and a public appeal, a Coastguard helicopter finally discovered the body in some moorland at approximately 1600 UTC on Saturday. His dead body, which was found roughly 300 metres from where the vehicle was discovered, was partially covered by snow.

As far as the police service are concerned, the circumstances of the accident are not considered to be suspicious. A report is to be given to a Procurator Fiscal later on.

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Sources

"Man found dead after crash search" — BBC News Online, January 31, 2010
Christopher Claire. "Driver dies as snow returns" — Scotland On Sunday, January 31, 2010
Press release. "RTC Gott, Shetland Update 2" — Northern Constabulary, January 31, 2010

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This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.