A young man remains gravely ill in hospital following a serious car crash on the outskirts of Kirkcaldy at the weekend.
Connor Aird, 17, is in a critical condition at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary after suffering significant injuries in a one-vehicle accident on the A915 Standing Stane Road at around 8.40am on Sunday.
His friend Ethan King, who was also 17, was killed in the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene, while 18-year-old Danny Stevens was also taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary where he is in a stable condition.
A 17-year-old boy, who had been driving the black Vauxhall Corsa which left the roadway, has been arrested in connection with the incident and is recovering at Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital after sustaining serious but not life threatening injuries.
Police have issued an appeal for anyone who saw the car or may have information which would help their inquiry to get in touch.
Sergeant Ewan Pearce, of Fife Road Police Unit, said: “Sadly a 17-year old has lost his life in this incident and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.
“Our inquiries to establish the events leading up to and surrounding this incident continue.
“We would urge anyone who may have seen the black Vauxhall Corsa travelling in the area at the time or who may have information about it to get in touch.
“Anyone with information can call Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident 1257 of 11 November, or make an anonymous call to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
Ethan has been described as “one in a million” and “happy go lucky” by friends on social media, and a memorial is being arranged to celebrate his life this coming weekend.
Family and friends will also gather for the event on Kirkcaldy Promenade at 6pm on Saturday, giving people the chance to go along and pay their respects by lighting a candle and placing it on the sea wall.
Ethan, Connor and Danny, who all lived in Kirkcaldy, all previously attended Kirkcaldy High School, and special assemblies were held on Monday morning for pupils and staff going through the grieving process.
Floral tributes have been placed near the scene of Sunday morning’s crash, which forced the closure of the main road between Kirkcaldy and Leven for around seven hours as crash investigators tried to establish the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
Ethan was the front seat passenger in the vehicle at the time of the accident and emergency services were unable to save him.
Both Connor and Danny were flown by air ambulance to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
Danny’s condition is understood to remain serious, but doctors are optimistic he will pull through.
Heartbroken friends have also rallied round to fundraise to help pay funeral costs for Ethan’s family, with a GoFundMe page set up in Ethan’s memory smashing its £1,000 target within just 18 minutes of going live.
It went on to hit around £6,000 in just 15 hours, with more money expected to flood in over the coming days.
Ethan played football for Glenrothes Athletic.
The club said its thoughts and prayers were with Ethan’s family at this sad time, while a minute’s silence has been organised for all Association of Fife Youth Football Clubs (AFYFC) matches taking place this weekend.
Raith Rovers Football Club also paid tribute.
A statement on its Facebook page said: “On behalf of Raith Rovers, our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of local boy Ethan King and everyone connected with Glenrothes Athletic on their tragic loss. RIP Ethan.”
