Biker does ‘20 rolls’ after hitting pothole on Camster road – danger area highlighted to council a year ago
A motorcyclist was rushed to hospital after an accident on the Camster road at a danger area highlighted in the Caithness Courier a year ago.
Denver Bruce (24) was driving his motorbike and accompanied by a fellow biker on the C1029 Occumster to Watten single-track road when he crashed after hitting a deep pothole on Wednesday afternoon.
Soon after the accident, his fiancee Cobi Bruce contacted the paper to highlight the issue and said: “He fractured his ankle and knee and broke his middle finger. He drives responsibly and has never had an accident until today at 1.11pm.”
Denver was rushed to Caithness General Hospital with a neck support device holding him steady in case there were injuries to his neck. His fiancee said she was at home looking after their children, both aged under two, when she heard the news. “His friend, Byron Edwards, phoned me straight after it happened and called the ambulance. I was in tears when I heard.
“They’re concerned about his knee and his foot and have taken three lots of X-rays all over his body. Depending on these he may have to go to Raigmore Hospital. His knee is double the size, he’s got road rash and gravel stuck in it and it’s split open in several places. He was in so much pain and on morphine. They’ve got him on dihydrocodeine just now. He was thinking his biking days are now over.”
Cobi said Denver’s helmet was smashed, his trousers ripped and torn, and his shoes and jacket destroyed. “He had all the proper gear on. He tried to dodge one pothole but then hit the one that is diagonally opposite.
“He said that there were so many potholes on the road that he had to drive from side to side. When he went into that dirt patch where the pothole is he flew off and did about 20 rolls before he stopped.”
The 21-year-old, who lives in Wick with her fiancee, said that Denver takes extra care on the roads and never goes over the speed limit. “He cares about his bike and about his babies so is extra careful.”
Denver’s friend took pictures at the crash site showing two potholes on either side of the narrow road that appear to have yellow paint sprayed around them. Roads workers often mark out potholes in such a manner to highlight them for fixing. When Cobi went out to take pictures and measure the depth of the potholes on Thursday morning she said that council workers were at the site and making temporary repairs.
“The council guy said it was deeper than seven inches and took so much tar to fill it up. He said it won’t last long and it’ll happen again.”
After sharing pictures of the crash site online, Cobi said that “a lassie messaged me and said she hit the exact same pothole in December and reported it”. She claims that the woman has a case reference number from the complaint to Highland Council. “She told me that the yellow paint was around it when she hit it.”
In March last year, the exact same area where the crash occurred was highlighted in an article called ‘The north/south divide of Camster's crumbing road’ in which Roster resident Peter Darmady condemned the “budget constraints” that have led to ongoing issues at the site.
“I think it needs to be resurfaced to a better standard,” he said.
“Modern asphalt is porous and it’s not draining out of the hole. They need to drain the pothole into the ditch, then they fill it and put another layer on top of the fill. I think the first and last steps of this process are missing.”
The area in question appears to have an issue with water affecting it and Highland Council was contacted with images showing the crash site and the same area a year previously with large potholes on it. The local authority contacted a member of its roads team but has not yet supplied a statement.
To subscribe to the paper please follow this link: www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/subscribe/
Use the promo code DAVIDGSCOTT to get a year of unlimited digital access for just £10 - we really appreciate your support.
