A CAR enthusiast told today how he was "lucky to be alive" after surviving a head-on smash in an £80,000 Porsche which killed two people.
Andrew Cathro, 25, from Musselburgh, was on holiday in Austria with his sister, Jennifer, when they borrowed a friend's sports car for a drive in the Alps.
Jennifer, 26, was driving when torrential rain hit, causing the car to skid onto the wrong
side of the road.
The sports car smashed head-on into a Ford, killing the two Austrian passengers, 62-year-old Erika Yelina and 82-year-old Siglinde Mitsche.
The crash left both siblings with serious head injuries which saw them bed-ridden in hospital for a month, but they returned to the Capital on Sunday night to continue their recovery.
Oil rig worker Andrew said: "It has been a terrible month. I had bleeding in my skull and I had to have a piece of my skull removed. Although we feel OK now, I'm still very shaken up and glad to be back.
"I'll stay off work for the next couple of months and I'm going to look into therapy to help me recover."
Both Andrew and Jennifer, who lives in Meadowbank and has just completed a degree in psychology at Queen Margaret University, were so traumatised by the accident that they cannot remember anything leading up to it.
Andrew said: "The last thing we remember is enjoying a meal at a restaurant the night before. We've obviously blocked the crash out of our memory because it was so traumatic.
"We know we didn't do anything wrong. Jennifer and I are experienced with cars and we never speed or drink when driving."
Police said that Jennifer had tested negative for alcohol and no further action was being taken.
Jennifer, who fractured her skull in the collision, will also take a few months off before searching for a job in an effort to put the traumatic event behind her.
Andrew said: "We now want to get on with our lives.
"We haven't seen any pictures of the accident and our camera with holiday pictures was destroyed in the crash.
"I haven't been in a car since and I think I need a bit of time away from driving to get over the incident." He added: "We feel very sad for the people who lost their lives. When we woke up in hospital, we were in disbelief and shock. We, of course, wish this tragic accident hadn't happened."
While Jennifer and Andrew were recovering in Klagenfurt Hospital, many relatives and friends flocked from Edinburgh to support the pair, which both said they are "very grateful" for.
Although Andrew is a huge fan of motor vehicles, owning a Nissan 350z and Ducati motorbike, he admits he will view driving a little differently in future.
He said: "Although it won't put me off cars, I will approach driving differently and will be more cautious. I'll expect the unexpected from now on.
"My cars are my pride and joy but I can't touch them at the moment."
The full article contains 525 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
