A young driver who was killed in a horror crash in Ayrshire has been named by devastated loved ones. Johnny Baxter, 22, was driving his silver Honda Civic when it collided with a white Mercedes B class on the A760 Largs to Kilbirnie road at 5.10pm on Tuesday, October 15.
Mercy crews raced to the A760 but Johnny was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
His passenger, another 22-year-old man, was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow with serious, but not life-threatening injuries. The 63-year-old male driver of the Mercedes was taken to University Hospital Crosshouse in Kilmarnock for assessment.
His heartbroken sister Morgan hailed him as her “beautiful angel” as she paid tribute to her big brother, saying that she had always “looked up to [him]”.
In a touching social media tribute, she shared pictures of them as children and adults, as well as a sweet video of him entering the room at a wedding to Aqua’s Barbie Girl.
She wrote: “Sleep tight my beautiful angel. There’s no way I could have prepared for your passing. Onto bigger and better things up there now.
“The boy I’ve looked up to my full life, the boy I told all my drama to, the boy I would go to when I just needed a hug, the boy I told my whole life story too, the boy who probably knows me better than I know myself.
“You’re the most caring and inspiring man I know. I love you forever my boy. Loved and missed by so many but never ever forgotten, forever 22.”
Friends flooded her post with sympathetic and supportive comments. One read: “I’m sorry for your loss. I know you and Johnny were like glue, inseparable, as some would put it. Thinking of you and your family, forever in our hearts.” Another added: “Sending big hugs to you and your family, thinking of you all.”
A third said: “Gutted for the family. This boy is the same age as my daughter. So so so sad. Condolences to all close family and friends.” Another replied: “I am absolutely devastated. I am so sorry for you and your family. Let me know if there is anything at all you need.”
The road was closed for just over nine hours to allow investigations to be carried out and re-opened around 2.40am on Wednesday, October 16. Enquiries into the full circumstances are ongoing and police are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.
Sergeant Brian Simpson, from the Ayrshire Road Policing Unit, said: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the man who died at this difficult time. Our investigation is ongoing and I am appealing to anyone who witnessed the crash and who has not already spoken to officers to get in touch.
“I would also ask anyone who was driving in the area around that time and who may have dash cam footage, or who may have seen the cars prior to the crash, to contact us.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact 101 quoting reference 2509 of October 15, 2024.
Johnny’s tragic death came the same day as four people from Glasgow, including two children, died in a motorway crash down south. A 42-year-old man, a 33-year-old woman, and two boys aged 15 and seven passed away following the collision on the M6 northbound in Cumbria on Tuesday.
The incident also killed the 40-year-old driver of the other vehicle and sent a third boy, seven, to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle with serious injuries.
A four year old girl is fighting for her life after being knocked down outside Blackfriars Primary on Cumberland Street in the Gorbals, also on Tuesday. She was rushed to the Royal Hospital for Children, where her condition is described as critical.
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