Daniel McAra the teenage driver killed in a car crash outside Perth on Sunday night was “the nicest guy you’d ever meet”, his friends say.
Daniel (19) was driving a silver Corsa and died in a head-on collision with a Range Rover at about 9.20pm on the A85, just a few miles from his home.
A keen footballer and college graduate, he was to begin a PE teaching course after the summer holidays and had recently worked in Asda.
After attending North Muirton PS and Perth Grammar School, he went on to study for an HNC in sports coaching at Elmwood College in Cupar.
He was the only son of Alex McAra, who runs an Inveralmond heavy goods vehicle training firm, and Lesley, who works for Aviva.
Friends and family gathered at the McAra family home in Burnbrae between Methven and Crieff and a man answering the door said the family were too upset to speak about their loss and would make no comment.
However, visitors to the crash site laid flowers and paid tribute to their friend.
Leah McWilliam said, “He was the nicest guy you would ever meet. He was fun-loving and always stopped to speak to you.”Good laughAnother friend said, “He was a brilliant guy and a good laugh and would speak to anybody.
“Everybody knew him from the Grammar and seeing him in town and he was a big personality.”
Daniel had been due to go on holiday in Magaluf with friends next week and had looked forward to the World Cup.
Another tearful friend said, “It shouldn’t have happened to him. He was just so young.”
They said Rangers fan Daniel loved playing football and was a key member of the Gannochy under-19 team.
The side have now suffered heartache twice in recent years. Another member of the squad, Kevin McRae, drowned in the Tay in 2005, aged 15.
Coach Martin Hawkins said, “Daniel’s the second boy we’ve lost. Kevin was one of ours as well. I’d actually been thinking about him today.
“It has been a real shock to hear what has happened to Daniel.”
He added, “I coached him for the under-19s, but he was with us from the age of 13.
“A few of the boys have been on the phone today because they had heard about the accident.
“Daniel played a lot of different positions but he was a striker for the U19s and scored a lot of goals. He was one of the youngest members of the team.”DevastatedJohn Low, rector of Perth Grammar School, said, “We are all devastated by the tragic news of Daniel’s untimely death. He was a very popular young man with both staff and pupils.
“Hard working and talented, he always had a smile on his face and was a great support to younger pupils.”
A spokesman for Elmwood College in Cupar said, “Daniel was well known in the college and worked well with fellow students and staff.
“The loss of his life in such tragic circumstances deeply affects us all at the college. Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.”
Daniel was described by colleagues at Asda as “an absolutely lovely lad.”
Shocked staff said they had been left “numb” by the tragedy.
David Young, people services manager at the Dunkeld Road store, where the teenager worked in the produce department, said, “Daniel was a brilliant colleague. He will be missed by everybody here.”
Inquiries are continuing and police are appealing for any witnesses who may have seen the vehicles before the collision.
The A85 has a history of fatal accidents, and six people from Methven itself have now been killed on the Perth to Crieff stretch since 2007.
In January that year, it saw one of Perthshire’s worst road accidents, when five people died in a head-on smash at Burnbrae, just yards from the McAra family home.
Figures released at the end of last year showed that accidents on the A85 claimed 19 lives between 2002 and 2006, while 444 people were injured over the same period.
Transport Scotland acknowledged the road, which runs from Perth to Oban, has a death rate far above normal.