VICTORIA WELDON
A GRANDMOTHER who recently celebrated the birth of her first grandchild has been killed in a car accident.
Brenda Hay, 47, died when her car left the road on the A970 in Shetland at around 11.30am on Saturday morning.
The nursery teacher was taking her elderly mother to see her sick aunt in Lerwick when the accident happened.
Her mother suffered minor injuries, which were treated at Gilbert Bain Hospital, while Mrs Hay died at the scene.
The victim's cousin Alice Arthur said that the mother of three sons had celebrated the birth of the grandson three weeks ago.
"She was just absolutely ecstatic about this little grandson. She was so looking forward to being a grandmother," she said.
"The whole island is in shock and disbelief, we just can't believe it."
Mrs Hay had been a mainstay of the Skerries community for many years, teaching home economics in the local school and then taking on the role of nursery teacher in 2013.
She was also chair of the island's community council until 2013.
Mrs Arthur added: "She was a strong character and you could always depend on her. Whenever there was a crisis you knew you could rely on Brenda to do the practical stuff.
"And she was always full of laughter, she would make us all laugh when she laughed.
"Whatever we do from now on there will be a huge gap because she was always there, all of the time."
The road was closed for 24 hours after the accident while police investigators examined the scene.
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