The parents of a Dollar Academy pupil who suffered life-threatening injuries when he was hit by a car are keeping a vigil at his hospital bedside.
Benjamin Collins, 15, was struck by a Volvo after getting off a bus on the 60mph stretch of the A977 Kinross to Kincardine road near Balado, shortly before 7pm on Wednesday.
The force of the impact threw him several metres through the air on to a grass verge near houses at the crossroads with the Cleish to Dalqueich road.
The teenager, understood to be a pupil at Dollar Academy, was conscious throughout his ordeal, according to eyewitnesses.
One man who lives near the scene said: “I was in the garden. It was a nice night. I heard screeching and a bang.
“I ran out and saw a body lying on the ground, about two metres from the house.
“He was lying straight out on his back on the grass verge and he was conscious. It was a relief to see him alive.
“He was shaking but there were no visible signs of injury, apart from a bit of blood on his head.
“I got on the phone to the emergency services and they told me not to move him into the recovery position, so I just tried to comfort him.
“A few minutes later a local doctor arrived. I recognised him from the surgery. He knew the boy and kept him talking until the ambulance arrived.
“He was saying ‘Benji, stay with me’. The ambulance took him away about 15 minutes later.”
Police said the teenager was crossing the A977 when he was hit by a grey Volvo S40 travelling west, towards the Crook of Devon, at 6.40pm.
Officers said he got off a bus shortly before, which was heading in the opposite direction.
“The driver of the car was very shaken up,” said the eyewitness who came to the teenager’s aid. “She was a woman who looked to be in her fifties. Her teenage daughter was in the passenger seat.”
A neighbour, who also asked to remain anonymous, said: “We heard a thump and looked out of the window. The body was lying on the grass at the side of our house. Some neighbours ran out. We called the ambulance.”
Fighting back tears, she added: “We didn’t go out because we didn’t want to see someone in that state. We were in shock.”
It is thought the 15-year-old was making his way home to Dawson’s Court, a quarter of a mile from the bus stop.
The teenager remains in a critical but stable condition at Royal Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy.
A friend of the family, who was at the boy’s home, said: “His parents are at his bedside in hospital. He’s obviously in a critical condition but I don’t know the prognosis. It’s too early to say.”
Police appealed for witnesses to call 101.
Photo by David Wardle