There was devastation in a tight-knit Fife community after it was revealed a horrific road accident had left the life of a popular teenager hanging by a thread.
Mr McLintoch described how crews worked to stabilise the victims until paramedics arrived.
“The passenger was not conscious and the driver was semi-conscious,” he said. “They had head, limbs and internal injuries.”
The car involved has been described as a “total write off.”
A major investigation into the incident is under way and the road was closed for almost seven hours following the accident.
Inspector Grant Edwards, head of road policing in Western Division, said, “Inquiries into the incident are still ongoing. The road was closed while crash investigators carried out meticulous inquiries.
“We are very keen to speak to anyone who may have witnessed the crash or who may have seen the grey Ford Focus prior to the incident.”
Anyone with information can contact police on 0300 1112222 or speak to any police officer.
Ricky Brown, from Newburgh, was last night in a critical condition following the catastrophic crash, which occurred on the outskirts of Perth in the early hours of Friday morning.
The 18-year-old labourer suffered multiple skull fractures. He was rushed to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee following the one-vehicle accident. Doctors described Ricky as being in a “critical” condition in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
His family are said to be “devastated” and were too upset to talk about the incident.
Jamie Fleming (20), also from Newburgh, had been driving the stricken car. He was treated for a fractured finger following the accident.
Locals in Newburgh were struggling to come to terms with the news that one of their most popular residents was facing a fight to survive. Howe of Fife and Tay Coast councillor Andrew Arbuckle summed up the feelings of many residents.
“Ricky was really well known in the town and was a lovely youngster,” he told The Courier. “He had a great reputation for helping people out locally and everyone sincerely hopes he pulls through.
“Everybody here is thinking about his family at this time it is a terrible thing to have happened.”
One friend described the teen as one of the nicest people he had ever met.
“He would have you in stitches,” he said. “Ricky is definitely a glass half full guy.
“Everyone round here knows Ricky…he would bounce from job to job because everyone would give him a reference.”
Near neighbour Eileen Cumming (73) said, “He is a nice laddie. He is very polite and he would do anything for anybody.”Slip road incidentRicky sustained the life-threatening injuries after the car he was travelling in rolled over several times on a slip road near the Friarton Bridge.
Emergency crews raced to the scene shortly after midnight on Friday.
Fire crews battled to remove Ricky and Jamie from their grey Ford Focus using hydraulic cutting equipment.
Among those first on the scene was Tayside Fire and Rescue station manager Billy McLintoch. He described the scene of devastation which greeted emergency workers.
“There was quite a lot of debris on a long length of the slip road,” Mr McLintoch said. “They must have rolled at least a few times.
“The devastation was quite horrendous and the debris from the car had spread across quite a long distance so we had to close the Edinburgh-bound road altogether.”