Bus driver, 70, critically injured in Carnwath bin-lorry collision

The second injured man, a 51-year-old passenger in the bin lorry, was reported to be in a stable condition. Those medical descriptions date from the reporting available on 14 November 2026. No subsequent condition update has been established for either man, so they should not be read as fresh assessments of their health.⁠1⁠2

Police received the report of the collision on the A70 Edinburgh Road at about 2.40pm on Friday, 13 November. Emergency services attended the scene in the village. The road remained closed for approximately 13 hours before reopening at 3.30am on Saturday, 14 November, according to Police Scotland.⁠2

The reopening ended the closure, not the inquiry. Officers were still seeking information to establish how the vehicles collided, and Sergeant Stephen MacDonald appealed to motorists to check dashcam recordings from the area around the time of the crash. The police account does not establish a cause or assign responsibility to either driver.⁠2

The bus driver required an air ambulance journey to Glasgow. Police Scotland said medical staff described his condition as critical, while BBC Scotland’s report on 14 November also recorded that assessment. His age and the fact that he was the bus’s sole occupant were confirmed in both accounts.⁠1⁠2

The injured lorry passenger was initially taken to Wishaw General Hospital. Police said he was later transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment and that medical staff described his condition as stable. He was travelling as a passenger in the bin lorry, not driving it—a distinction that matters when identifying who was hurt.⁠2

The account therefore describes two injured men from different vehicles, rather than an incident involving injured bus passengers. Beyond their ages and roles in the vehicles, the cited police appeal provides no further personal details about them. Its medical information records the seriousness of the aftermath but does not explain the circumstances that led to the collision.⁠2

There is also a limit to what can be said about their recovery. The latest verified descriptions remain those reported on 14 November: critical for the bus driver and stable for the lorry passenger. Without a later medical statement, neither improvement nor deterioration can responsibly be inferred from the time that has passed.

MacDonald’s appeal makes clear that establishing the circumstances remains the task. It asks for information rather than offering a conclusion about the collision. That leaves an important boundary between the confirmed consequences—hospital treatment and a lengthy road closure—and any explanation of how the crash happened.⁠2

The sergeant also asked motorists to look back at footage they may already hold: “We’d also ask motorists to check any dashcam footage of the area around the time of the incident in case it has captured anything which could be of significance to our investigation.”⁠2

That request is directed at recordings from the area around the time of the incident. Police have not said in the appeal that any particular recording has been recovered or that footage has established what happened. The request is an opportunity for people with potentially relevant material to bring it to investigators’ attention, not evidence of a finding already reached.⁠2

For road users, the confirmed transport update is that the A70 reopened early on Saturday morning. For the two hospitalized men, the position remains less settled in the available reporting. Keeping those developments separate avoids suggesting that a return to traffic marked the resolution of the crash’s consequences.

Anyone with information can contact Police Scotland on its non-emergency number, 101, quoting incident number 1884 of Friday, 13 November 2026. That is the reference given in the force’s appeal for the Carnwath collision, including its request for relevant dashcam footage.⁠2