Fairmilehead death: 'Heroic' passers-by administered CPR in vain attempt to save collapsed man

‘Heroic’ passers-by administered CPR and rushed to get hold of a defibrillator in a desperate attempt to keep a man alive after he collapsed on the street following a road rage incident.
The scene of the incident in Fairmilehead.The scene of the incident in Fairmilehead.
The scene of the incident in Fairmilehead.

Witnesses described the 69-year-old man, who died after being rushed to hospital by the ambulance service, ‘turning purple’ and collapsing in the midst of a heated argument.

Police confirmed that the man died following a “dispute” with another driver on Biggar Road in Fairmilehead at around 4pm on Thursday.

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The drivers had had an argument further down the road at the roundabout close to the bypass, witnesses said, before they both got out of their cars and began shouting at each other.

Witnesses added the man who died had been travelling with his wife and their puppy in the car.

One witness, a salon worker who wished to remain anonymous, said it was not uncommon for arguments to break out between drivers and that the argument began after one of the drivers cut into the other’s lane.

She said: “There was an argument with two guys in the street, no contact was made between the two of them, it was all verbal.

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“The older guy just went purple in his face and collapsed and hit the deck. There was a little bit of blood as well.”

She added: “There were people jumping out of their cars and cyclists jumping off their bikes and trying to help. It changed my thoughts about people in general as people were taking turns doing CPR, they were a very heroic bunch of people.”

The witness added that call handling staff had urged bystanders to retrieve a defibrillator from a nearby church, but paramedics arrived before it could reach the collapsed man.

She said: “It was quite a traumatic afternoon with police everywhere and CID getting involved because of the argument

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“The younger guy who was arguing with him must have been shaken and taken aback becase the guy just dropped down in front of him.”

Robin Thorburn, 57, who lives on Biggar Road, said the road was notorious for disagreements between drivers.

He said: “It can be a lot of horns and a lot of shouting. It is not uncommon.”

Ward councillor Scott Arthur called for the road to be made safer for all users.

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He said: “This is appalling news from just 5 minutes walk from my home - my thoughts are very much with the family of the gentleman.”

A spokesman for Police Scotland said a man was taken unwell at the scene and taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary where he later died.