The wife of a motorcyclist who died in a crash in East Ayrshire has described how the "heart of her family was gone in the blink of an eye."
Ian Sloan, a 56-year-old father and grandfather, was on his way to visit a friend when his motorcycle collided with a car on the A719 on the afternoon of June 15, 2024. Emergency services attended, but Ian was pronounced dead at the scene.
The male driver of the car was uninjured, while four female passengers were taken to Crosshouse Hospital for treatment.
Family's trauma
Shirley Sloan, Ian's wife, shared their story as part of Police Scotland's National Motorcycle Safety Campaign. She said: "Losing a loved one in the manner that we lost Ian was so traumatic. You don't have time to say goodbye or put plans in place. One minute you're a family making plans for the future and in the blink of an eye, the heart of your family's gone."
She added: "It's left my son, daughter and I with terrible anxieties. If I'm out in the car and I'm not home by the time I say I'm going to be home, both of the kids are straight on the phone to see where I am and I'm the same with them. It's like we're waiting for something bad to happen, again."
The day of the crash
Shirley was out with friends when she received dozens of missed calls from her son. She recalled: "I phoned him back but a police officer answered. I knew in that moment it was serious. I knew in my heart. But hearing the words 'I'm sorry that your husband was killed in an accident today' was dreadful."
She continued: "It still breaks my heart that Ian was alone at home when the police arrived to tell him his dad had been killed. I had to phone Iona and ask her to come home but I couldn't tell her how serious the accident had been. When she came home and I told her that dad wasn't coming home, I'll never forget the noise that she made."
Safety appeal
Ian, who loved bikes and was part of a thriving biker community, rode his bike to de-stress. Shirley urged all road users: "Drive to the road conditions. Don't take any chances. Don't cut corners and just take another look. That extra second or third look could make the difference to someone's life."
She added: "If someone has a collision in a car, there's a fair chance they're walking away. But that's not the same for a biker."
