The best friend of a man seriously injured after being hit by a car on Saturday night said today he spoke to him only 20 minutes earlier.
Greg Keir, of Carnoustie, was rushed to hospital after being struck by a car near Barry Buddon in Angus.
The 28-year-old pedestrian was taken to Ninewells Hospital after the incident.
Today his close friend Laurie Hughes said he was devastated when he heard that Greg had been involved in an accident.
Laurie, 26, added: “I spoke to Greg only around 20 minutes before the accident happened.
“I received a phone call from Greg on Saturday night asking if I could pick him up and take him back home to Carnoustie where we both live.
“However, I lost contact with him and Greg must have decided to walk home instead.
“That’s when the accident happened.”
Laurie said that Greg had originally been his brother’s best mate but very quickly he and Greg became good friends.
Laurie added: “We have known each other most of our lives.
“He gave me my first job as a football coach at SoccerWorld and now I am his assistant manager.
“But we are obviously more than just work mates.
“Greg is a great character and a very popular person with everyone who knows him.
“I just hope that everything goes well and he recovers from this quickly.”
Greg’s parents, who live in Monifieth, were too upset to talk when approached by the Tele.
Greg has been manager of SoccerWorld in Dundee for eight years.
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said: “There was a collision that happened around 10.50pm on Saturday.
“It happened around 100m west of Buddon Road, on the A930 at Barry Buddon, and involved a male pedestrian, aged 28, and a car.
“The man was taken to Ninewells Hospital with serious injuries.
“No one else was injured in the incident and the road was closed overnight, with diversions put in place.
“The driver was at the scene when police attended and the vehicle involved was a Honda Civic.”
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said today: ”We attended an incident near Barry around 10.53pm on Saturday and a male was taken directly to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee for treatment.”
