David Barral, 63, born in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, was pronounced dead at the scene
THE devastated family of a former Scots boss of insurance giants Aviva paid tribute after he died in a horror smash in his Aston Martin.
David Barral, 63, was travelling in his grey £160,000 DBX SUV when it left the road and slammed into a tree before erupting in flames.
The former CEO of Aviva UK, born in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, was pronounced dead at the scene.
His family said in a statement: “We are all absolutely devastated at the loss of the most wonderful man.
“Rest in peace David we will all miss you so, so much and you will always fill our hearts.
“We love you.”
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Shocked friends and former colleagues also paid tribute online after the crash which happened at 2.05pm on Tuesday on the A58 between Bardsey and Collingham, near Wetherby, West Yorkshire.
Pictures from the scene show dozens of emergency vehicles crowded around the site of the tragic crash.
Fire crews, police and paramedics all responded to the horrific smash and battled to save the ex-CEO’s life but despite their best efforts he was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
Craig Cullingworth said: “This is very sad news, David was a customer of mine and lovely man. Rip mate, my thoughts are with your family and friends.”
Tracy Bratley posted: “RIP David, whenever our paths crossed at Aviva he was always so lovely.”
Adam Glassford added: “Absolutely devastated to read this, David was a good friend of mine and the most lovely decent guy you could ever meet. Sending my deepest condolences.”
Dad-of-three David lived in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.
His 30-year business career included senior roles at Virgin Wines and investment platform Embark Group and he was most recently a strategic adviser at investment group Harwood Capital.
He has previously told of his early struggles to climb the ladder which began with working as a door-to-door salesman for Abbey Life.
He said: “Abbey was a really tough job, I was only 18 and I was probably too young to sustain it.
“I did get my wife’s engagement ring with my third month’s salary, though.”
He added that his life ambition was “to be the best that I can and see my children healthy, happy and debt-free”.
West Yorkshire Police appealed for witnesses to the crash.
A spokesperson said they would “particularly like to hear from anyone with relevant dashcam or CCTV footage”.
