Family of man killed in bus crash 'inadvertently' see pictures of 'severed head'

A man has sadly died after he was hit by a bus this weekend. The 74-year-old was struck down in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh in Scotland.

In the aftermath of the incident on Saturday, November 2, reports on social media that a 'severed head' had been found circulated. It was said that revellers in the Scottish capital thought the remains were part of a Halloween decoration.

Police officers have since asked that no one share images or videos of the incident so as not to cause distress to the man's family. Some of his loved ones saw the content by accident, they added.

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Sergeant Louise Birrell, of the Road Policing Unit, said: "Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the man who died. Extensive enquiries 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.

"Anyone with information is asked to call the police via 101. Please quote incident number 3395 of Saturday, 2 November 2024."

Chief inspector Trisha Clark, the local area commander working on the incident, has pleaded with the public to avoid sharing graphic footage online out of respect for the family and to report any graphic content to social media operators, EdinburghLive reports.

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

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