By Douglas Walker, Deadline Picture and Press Agency
A GROUP of pals’ trip to the races turned into a nightmare after one of them was mowed down by a fire engine on a callout.
The four friends had travelled to Musselburgh racetrack from Glasgow when the 35-year-old man stepped into the path of the emergency vehicle.
After being treated on the roadside, he was taken to hospital where he remains in critical condition.
Sarah Lowe, 30, was working as a waitress in a local café when the group came in just before the accident happened on Friday night.
She said: “There was four of them in total and they said they were through from Glasgow for the races.
“The were laughing and joking, and were in really high spirits. The one who had the accident seemed a nice guy and was trying to hug me.
“After each eating a plate of fish and chips, they paid and left the café saying they were going to the pub next door.”
It was after this at approximately 5.15 that the accident happened. The man, from Glasgow, stepped out onto Musselburgh High Street where he was hit by the fire engine, which was on a 999 emergency call out.
Shocked Sarah continued: “Five minutes after they left I could hear sirens and see flashing lights outside.
“I went outside and could see the guy lying 20 yards up the road on the other side from the café.
“There was a pool of blood around him and his friends were having to be restrained by some of the firemen.”
Police immediately closed the road as the man was treated and a subsequent investigation was carried out into the accident.
A spokesman for Lothian and Borders police said: “A 35-year-old man was hit by a fire engine in Musselburgh that was responding to a 999 call.
“The injured male was taken to hospital and he remains in a critical but stable condition.”
The fire engine was on its way to a call out in Wallyford and had its sirens on at the time of the accident.
The road was closed for five hours while an investigation into the accident was carried out.
ENDS
