Teenager dies after car hit by falling tree

During Storm Eunice, a teenager tragically died after his vehicle was struck by a falling tree. The 19-year-old was driving a blue Ford Focus on the B743 road in Mauchline, East Ayrshire, at approximately 6:45 am on Friday when the incident occurred.

He was subsequently taken to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow for treatment, but unfortunately passed away on Saturday. At the time of the incident, the area was under an amber weather warning. The accident happened more than three hours before a red weather warning came into effect.

Sergeant Chris McColm of Police Scotland's Road Policing Unit stated, "Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the deceased." The young man is the second person to tragically lose their life following the storm on Friday. Previously, in the Republic of Ireland, 20-year-old Casper Dudek died in County Donegal after a tree fell on his car.

Two days after Storm Eunice hit, over 20,000 homes and businesses in Scotland remain without power. Of these, over 14,000 SP Energy Networks customers in central and southern Scotland are still without electricity. Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) stated they have 7,500 customers still without power. Rail and ferry lines across the country continue to be severely impacted, with significant disruptions expected to persist on Sunday.

Train operator ScotRail said engineers were working to restore the network, after 400 separate incidents were recorded on Friday and Saturday. CalMac has begun operating some ferries on its island routes, but these remain prone to delays and cancellations due to ongoing adverse weather, storm damage, and power outages.

Scotland remains under a yellow wind warning from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm on Sunday, covering Strathclyde, south-west Scotland, Lothian, and the Borders. Scottish Government minister Angela Constance stated on BBC Scotland's Sunday Show that the country has entered a "recovery phase," emphasizing the storm's rare ferocity, making it a "multi-day impact" event that will extend into next week.

"The stage we're at now is in many ways the most difficult stage for our utility companies," she said. "As they do repairs, they're often finding other repairs are needed. We're moving into more rural areas where real effort and commitment is needed, and I know that, in particular, the energy companies are moving teams to the west coast because the situation is becoming more operationally difficult today."

Northern Ireland is also under a yellow wind warning, with around 75,000 customers still without power. The warning is in place from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm, with gusts of 40-60 mph in many areas. This follows a yellow ice and snow warning which was in place from 6:00 pm on Saturday to 10:00 am on Sunday. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has warned people to take care while driving, as many roads remain impassable with fallen trees, wires, and debris following Storm Eunice.