Edinburgh death crash: Police plead with public to stop sharing 'distressing' photos as pensioner killed

At around 7.25pm on Saturday, police responded to the incident which happened in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh.

A number of roads were closed while an investigation took place, and have since re-opened.

Sergeant Louise Birrell, of Police Scotland’s road policing unit, Edinburgh, said: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the man who died.

“Extensive inquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of this incident.

“Officers have spoken to a number of people who were in the area at the time and work is ongoing to check public and private CCTV footage.

“We are still keen to hear from anyone who has not yet spoken to police. If you have any information about what happened, then please get in touch.”

Police have also asked members of the public to stop sharing a number of pictures and videos of the dead man on social media, out of respect for the victim’s family.

Chief inspector Trisha Clark, the local area commander, said: “We are aware of videos and images circulating on social media which are causing distress to the deceased’s family and those viewing them inadvertently.

“We would ask members of the public not to share them out of respect for his family, and to report them to the relevant social media platform to prevent further circulation.

“There has been a lot of speculation, and I would like to reassure the local community that this was an isolated incident and there is no risk to the wider public.

“This was a tragic incident. We are investigating a crash, and our road policing officers, assisted by local officers, are continuing to carry out inquiries.”

She added: “Anyone with concerns or any information which could assist the investigation should contact police.”

Eyewitnesses in the Cowgate area described feeling “scared” after seeing the large police presence on Saturday night.

Roy, who did not wish to give his surname – a restaurant owner from Edinburgh, described the atmosphere as “very intense and quiet” after seeing flashing blue lights from emergency vehicles.

The 40-year-old had finished work at around 7.45pm, and managed to capture images of police cars lining the street.

He told the PA news agency: “Half a dozen police cars were blocking Cowgate.

“I felt scared under the strong blue light and sure something really bad must have happened. I did stop a while but couldn’t see anything so I left.

“The atmosphere was very intense and quiet compared to a normal Saturday night, which is full of music in Cowgate.”

Meanwhile, Mason Dowie, 29, a bartender from Edinburgh was enjoying a night out at the BrewDog pub in Cowgate when he saw around six emergency vehicles and police cordoning off the intersection of Cowgate and Grassmarket.

Mr Dowie said he went outside to vape before he “found the street cordoned off” and took a picture of several police officers in the area.

“I reacted with curiosity more than anything else,” he told PA.

“I was in BrewDog which wasn’t in the immediate cordon so we were allowed to stay. I then went down to the Three Sisters which was still in full swing.

“They weren’t letting anyone that wasn’t already within the cordon onto Cowgate from Grassmarket however.

“There was a fairly large presence around. A big team of white hats arrived – I presume they’re the forensics guys. I’d say there were maybe five or six vehicles, with more arriving throughout the night.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Police Scotland via 101, quoting incident number 3395 of Saturday 2 November 2024.