Former Dundee United player Gavin Stokes tragically died in a car crash on Saturday morning.
The 30-year-old footballer was driving a white Mercedes jeep when, it is understood, he lost control at the Thornwood roundabout in Partick, on the outskirts of Glasgow. Stokes crashed at 1.10am on Saturday morning and was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured in the crash.
Officers investigating the collision have appealed to members of the public for information. They particularly want to hear from those with dash-cam footage. Sergeant Paul Mellis said: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the man who died following this crash.
"Our investigation is ongoing and I would appeal to any witnesses who have not yet spoken to police to contact us. I would also be keen to obtain and dash-cam from motorists who were driving on this road around the time of the crash. Information can be passed to Police Scotland on 101 with reference number 0221 of October 8.”
Stokes had one child, Freddie, with his partner Lauren and was also a qualified electrician. His family have paid tribute, describing him as "the life and soul of the party". They also hailed him as a beloved son, amazing dad, brother, uncle and friend.
During his career Stokes was twice capped for Scotlands U17s and U16s. At club level he played for Alloa Althetic, Kilbirnie Ladeside, Irvine Meadow.
It was whilst playing for Maryhill that Stokes grabbed national attention after scoring straight from kick-off, with his goal becoming one of the fastest in Scottish history. His strike, unofficially clocked at 2.1 seconds, came in clash with Clydebank and made him an internet sensation.
He said after his historic moment: "I’ll need to try again in a couple of weeks. I’ve tried it a few times and when I saw the Clydebank keeper off his line a little bit I thought I might as well have a go. Luckily it went into the top corner. I actually tried it the week before but missed it.
“I actually deactivated my Twitter about two months ago but with the amount of notifications since Saturday I’ve had to set it back up.”
