Tributes have been paid to a five-year-old boy who died following a tragic crash near Inverness. Emergency services rushed to the B9039 near the Airport following reports of a three-car crash at around 9 am on Monday, 6, March.
A five-year-old boy, named locally as Theo, was taken to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow where he sadly passed away on Tuesday, 7 March. A six-year-old girl and a 39-year-old woman were also taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness but have since been released.
Theo's heartbroken family have paid tribute to the 'kind and smiley' boy who was well-known in the community. His devastated mum Donna Carson posted online: "My precious wee boy. Fly high son, devastated. Love you so much."
Barry Carson added: "We are all in shock. I’m in tears writing this. Five years old, had his whole life ahead of him.
"I honestly can’t believe it. Fly high wee man, you were a wee fighter."
A GoFundMe page set up by kind members of the local community of Ardersier to pay for Theo's funeral has already surpassed £10,000 in donations just hours after launching. In it, the 'devastated and heartbroken' community describe him as a 'natural loving, kind, warm and loveable boy.'
It reads: "The community in Ardersier has been left devastated and heartbroken after the loss of Theo who was 5 years old following a RTC. As a community we would like to stand in the gap and support his family by giving Theo the most magical send off we can.
"With the consent and blessing of the family, we have started a gofund me page to help ease the pain. If you had the privilege of meeting Theo or interacting with him, then you'll understand what I mean by saying " he was a natural loving, kind, warm and loveable boy".
"If you walked past and he was playing outside the garden, you'd be guaranteed to get a wave and a little interrogation of where you're going, what you're up to, followed of course by what he was doing or what he's been up to. Theo was a natural smiler, you would hear " hello, how are you" before you saw him.
"The street is going to miss him, the village is going to miss him and I know his friends at nursery and his family are going to miss him. Theo, we are really going to miss seeing your face around, Rest In Perfect peace smiler."
Police Scotland have launched an investigation into the crash and have asked anyone who may have witnessed the incident to come forward and assist with their enquiries.
Road policing officer, Sergeant David Miller, said: “Our thoughts are with the family of the boy who has died at what is a very difficult time for them and they have asked for privacy.
“We continue to appeal for information to assist our enquiries into the circumstances of the crash and ask anyone who had not already spoken to officers to get in touch.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland via 101, quoting incident number 0658 of Monday 6 March.
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