‘You will never be forgotten’: Tributes pour in as man, 63, named as victim of Fife road tragedy

Tributes have poured in for 63-year-old John King after he was named as the victim of a road accident in Fife at the weekend.

It is understood Mr King, of Ballingry, took ill at the wheel while driving westbound on the A92 on Saturday night.

He was tragically pronounced dead at the scene.

Posting on social media, his brother David King said: “It’s very hard to put into words about how I feel just now about the death of my big brother John, but gutted is one word I could use. RIP John you will never be forgotten.”

The family later released a statement through Police Scotland.

“The family are devastated by the sudden death of John,” they said.

“We would like to thank everyone for their thoughts and condolences. We would ask for privacy at this sad time.”

Emergency services responding to the accident rushed to the stretch of the A92 east of the Cowdenbeath slip road at around 10pm.

A 12-year-old boy and a one-year-old baby were taken to Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy by ambulance with what were described as minor injuries. They were kept in hospital overnight for observation.

It is understood Mr King was a veteran of the Royal Navy and was posted in the Falklands during the 1980s.

Before his retirement, he had worked as an engineer.

Just days before the tragedy he and his wife Ann had celebrated 34 years of marriage.

As news of his passing spread through the community, people who knew Mr King paid tribute.

Wullie Stark of Stark Butchers in Lochore said: “We at Stark butcher where saddened to hear of the death of John King. Another fine man taken too quickly, our thoughts and prayers for Ann and the family may he rest in peace.”

A friend of the family described Mr King as “such a character and a real nice guy”.

Another said: “John is a great loss. I have so many great memories and he will be sorely missed.”

Police said just one vehicle had been involved in the accident.

The westbound stretch of the A92 between Cowdenbeath and Lochgelly was closed for 15 hours while an accident investigation was carried out.

Inspector Andy Mather of Fife Road Policing said: “Our thoughts are with Mr King’s family and friends at this difficult time.

“We are carrying out enquiries to establish the full circumstances which led to this collision and would ask anyone who may have information and has not yet spoken to police to come forward as soon as possible.

“Any information can be passed to police by calling 101, quoting incident 3941 of September 12.”