'I was numb. I was thinking of the worst-case scenario'

Saturday 18 August 2012

A MAN said "the worst case scenario" came true when a train he was travelling on hit two hillwalkers, who turned out to be his father and brother.

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Nick Jedrzejewski

Gary Kolarczyk was travelling on the West Highland line on Tuesday, with his wife Alison, to meet his brother Paul and 87-year-old father Gerhard, who had been on a fishing trip on Rannoch Moor, Perthshire.

The couple had decided to spend the day in Fort William while they waited for the pair to finish their fishing trip.Mr Kolarczyk, an offshore worker, and his 53-year-old wife, who live in Blairgowrie, Perthshire, had boarded the train from Fort William and were due to meet Mr Kolarczyk's family at Rannoch Station.At about 6.40pm, roughly two miles from the station, the couple heard the train's horn sound. The train then came to a sudden stop. Mr Kolarczyk, 60, said: "We felt the train brake suddenly and we heard the horn going, then it just came to a stop."A couple of minutes later a message came over the tannoy saying we had hit sheep on the line."Knowing his father, originally from Ferryden, Montrose, and brother would be on their way back to the station, Mr Kolarczyk Jnr said he and his wife had a "funny feeling" something terrible had happened. He said: "We just looked at each other and knew there was something else."We hadn't seen any sheep for miles and miles and it is such a remote place." The couple, who had been sitting in the last carriage of the train, went to ask the driver what had happened, after another message asked for medical help.He said: "We saw someone put on surgical gloves and we knew then that it wasn't sheep."They wouldn't let anyone off the train. I was just numb. I was thinking of the worst-case scenario."Mr Kolarczyk was eventually allowed to leave the train, and his worst fear was confirmed: the train had hit his father and brother. The driver had spotted the men and braked in an attempt to avoid hitting them.Mr Kolarczyk managed to get his father on board the train. He had suffered cuts and bruises, bumped his head and was in a state of shock.The 87-year-old said he dropped down into a 5ft-deep drain at the side of the track after his son shouted from behind that a train was coming.Mr Kolarczyk Jnr said: "He was just dazed. I don't think he realised just how serious it all was.A helicopter was scrambled from RAF Lossiemouth to help his 52-year-old brother, who had suffered serious leg injuries.He said he would not know exactly what happened to Paul until his brother wakes up, but that he thought the train had snagged his rucksack and flung him from the line. Paul was airlifted to Glasgow's Southern General Hospital, where he remains in a serious condition and is sedated.Mr Kolarczyk Jnr said he feared his brother might lose his right leg, but that his condition was now improving. He said: "Doctors said he has got a bit of circulation back. We have been really worried.Mr Kolarczyk Jnr had travelled with his father by air ambulance to Fort William's Belford Hospital, where he was checked over and allowed to go home the same night. His brother and father live in Germany, and had travelled to Scotland for an annual holiday.Mr Kolarczyk Jnr said the accident had left everyone stunned, but added: "We're looking at the bright side. They could have been killed. "It could have been so much worse."ScotRail was forced to close the line to allow emergency services to deal with the situation, but it re-opened the same evening.

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'I was numb. I was thinking of the worst-case scenario'

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