On 22 December 2014 a
bin lorry collided with pedestrians in the city centre of
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, killing six and injuring fifteen others.
The driver of the council-owned vehicle, Harry Clarke, said he had passed out at the wheel. A similar blackout had happened to him in the driving seat of a bus. He had not disclosed that incident on his heavy goods vehicle licence renewal application, despite such self-reporting being mandatory. Clarke was officially told he would not face further prosecution, effectively giving him immunity over the deaths and causing protests from victims' families at the way the case had been handled.
In October 2015 it was reported that Clarke had been arrested on suspicion of driving without a licence in September 2015.
The incident was the third Christmas time tragedy to affect the city in four years. It followed from a similar accident in 2010 and a 2013 helicopter crash.
Incident
The accident occurred in Queen Street at around 14:30 GMT. The 26-tonne vehicle was being driven by 58-year-old Harry Clarke, with two crew members seated in the rear compartment, separated from the front by a railing. While travelling north, Clarke blacked out just after the traffic lights at the Gallery of Modern Art. After mounting the pavement the lorry travelled for 19 seconds, striking pedestrians, initially accelerating to before dropping to and as it struck walls and other street furniture. It came to rest part-way into an alley between the entrance to Glasgow Queen Street railway station
Glasgow Queen Street ( gd, Sràid na Banrighinn) is a passenger railway terminus serving the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. It is the smaller of the city's two mainline railway terminals (the larger being Glasgow Central station, Glasgow Central ...
and a hotel. The pedestrian collisions resulted in six deaths and a further 15 injuries. The six dead were a family of three from Dumbarton — an 18-year-old woman Erin McQuade and her grandparents Jack Sweeney and Lorraine Sweeney ;— 29-year-old Stephanie Tait from Glasgow, 51-year-old Jacqueline Morton from Glasgow and 52-year-old Gillian Ewing originally from Edinburgh.[
Rail services at the station continued and were accessed through alternative entrances in Dundas and North Hanover Streets.
]
Investigation
At a meeting between representatives of Police Scotland
Police Scotland ( gd, Poileas Alba), officially the Police Service of Scotland (), is the national police force of Scotland. It was formed in 2013, through the merging of eight regional police forces in Scotland, as well as the specialist service ...
, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is the independent public prosecution service for Scotland, and is a Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. The department is headed by His Majesty's Lord Advocate, who under the S ...
(COPFS), the Health and Safety Executive
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a UK government agency responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare, and for research into occupational risks in Great Britain. It is a non-depar ...
and others the day after the accident, it was concluded that the incident was to be treated as a road traffic accident and thus should be investigated by the police as the proper regulator (as opposed to the HSE for any offences under Health and Safety law
Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wor ...
).
Having been admitted to the Western Infirmary
The Western Infirmary was a teaching hospital situated in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland, that was managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. It was opened in 1874 and closed in 2015.
History
After the University of Glasgow moved from the city ...
after the crash, Clarke was discharged on 7 January 2015.[ He was eventually diagnosed as having suffered neurocardiogenic syncope, a fainting episode caused by drop in blood pressure.][ He waived the anonymity he was given immediately after the incident and released a statement in a newspaper on 5 February to the effect that he had been unconscious and had no memory of the crash.]
After the police investigation, which did not involve Clarke giving a police statement, on 25 February 2015 the Crown Office concluded that no criminal charges would be brought against either Clarke or the council. It had been determined that as he was unconscious Clarke did not "have the necessary criminal state of mind required for a criminal prosecution" and also that no breaches of Health and Safety law had occurred. It was, however, decided that a fatal accident inquiry
A fatal accident inquiry is a Scottish judicial process which investigates and determines the circumstances of some deaths occurring in Scotland. Until 2009, they did not apply to any deaths occurring in other jurisdictions, when the Coroners an ...
(FAI) would be held to determine the cause of the crash and establish what lessons could be learned. The inquiry would examine three main aspects — Clarke's health and training, the safety of the vehicle and the safety of the route.
On 25 June 2015 the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA; cy, Asiantaeth Trwyddedu Gyrwyr a Cherbydau) is the organisation of the UK government responsible for maintaining a database of drivers in Great Britain and a database of vehicles for the entire ...
(DVLA) withdrew Clarke's car-driving licence for medical reasons and banned him from driving heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) for ten years.
The inquiry began at Glasgow Sheriff Court
Glasgow Sheriff Court is a sheriff court in the Gorbals ( Laurieston) area of Glasgow, within the sheriffdom of Glasgow and Strathkelvin. It is reputedly the busiest court in Europe.
History
The new court was commissioned to replace the Old Sh ...
on 22 July 2015 before Sheriff John Beckett QC. Evidence to the inquiry found there were no mechanical faults with the vehicle and that the other two crew members would have been unable to apply the handbrake because they were wearing their seatbelts. No other safety devices were fitted to the vehicle that would have allowed a crew member not in the driver's seat to stop the vehicle.
The inquiry also revealed that Clarke's medical history
The medical history, case history, or anamnesis (from Greek: ἀνά, ''aná'', "open", and μνήσις, ''mnesis'', "memory") of a patient is information gained by a physician by asking specific questions, either to the patient or to other peo ...
contained episodes of dizziness and fainting dating from the 1970s and that he had previously suffered a blackout while at the wheel of a First Glasgow
First Glasgow is the largest bus company serving the Greater Glasgow area in Scotland. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. The company operates within the area covered by the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, a public body responsible for h ...
bus, which was in service but stationary at a bus stop. It was stated that Clarke had been passed fit to return to work as a bus driver owing to failures by both the bus company's doctor and Clarke's own general practitioner (GP) to spot that Clarke had changed his account of events, telling his GP that the episode had occurred in the canteen, which the GP then attributed to the hot conditions and deemed to be unlikely to be repeated.
The inquiry further found that Clarke had subsequently lied about this medical history, both when he applied for a large goods vehicle (LGV) licence from the DVLA in Swansea and in his job application to Glasgow City Council.[ As a result, Clarke was suspended by the council on 6 August 2015. In giving evidence the DVLA admitted its self-declaration system had a weakness, since it allowed applicants to be assessed by either an employer-appointed occupational-health doctor or their own GP, and occupational-health doctors would not usually have access to the applicant's medical records.]
In August 2015 the head of the inquiry reiterated that the February 2015 decision not to file criminal charges still stood, clarifying that "this covered all aspects of Mr Clarke's driving and any false information he had given to doctors, the DVLA and Glasgow City Council about his medical history." This was followed by confirmation that a possible prosecution in the jurisdiction of England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
by the DVLA for the non-disclosure to them would not be pursued either.[
During the fifth week of the inquiry, with Clarke still to give evidence, the family of one of the dead applied for an adjournment of up to three months in order to pursue a ]private prosecution A private prosecution is a criminal law, criminal proceeding initiated by an individual private citizen or private organisation (such as a prosecution association) instead of by a public prosecutor who represents the State (polity), state. Private p ...
against Clarke for dangerous driving
In United Kingdom law, dangerous driving is a statutory offence. It is also a term of art used in the definition of the offence of causing death by dangerous driving. It replaces the former offence of reckless driving. Canada's Criminal Code ha ...
, on the basis that the evidence so far showed unfitness to drive owing to a medical condition. The move was opposed by the family of one of the other victims but supported by those of the remaining five. After further discussions with the other families they decided to drop the motion while still intending to pursue the private prosecution. A subsequent motion by Clarke's lawyer to have the inquiry halted was dismissed as being against the public interest. Owing to the prospect of the private prosecution, when the inquiry resumed Clarke was warned by the Sheriff that he did not have to answer incriminating questions. On giving evidence Clarke declined to answer all questions save some that dealt with his recollections of the crash, leading to some of the families walking out of the inquiry.[
The inquiry was adjourned on 28 August, with the Sheriff anticipating reporting his findings by January 2016, although this could be delayed if it were deemed it would be prejudicial to the planned private prosecution.][ Upon closure the ]Lord Advocate
, body =
, insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg
, insigniasize = 110px
, image = File:Official Portrait of Dorothy Bain QC.png
, incumbent = Dorothy Bain KC
, incumbentsince = 22 June 2021
, appointer = Monarch on the advice ...
, Frank Mulholland, reiterated the defence of the decision not to prosecute Clarke for the reasons previously given, explaining that the decision had been based on the fact the Crown would have had to prove Clarke would have known he was unfit to drive, something they doubted could be done based on a number of factors — his four-year history of episode-free driving after the 2010 incident, the fact that First Glasgow's occupational-health doctor had cleared him to drive after the 2010 incident and told him he need not notify the DVLA and the fact that First had given the council an acceptable reference. Citing DVLA procedures, he also pointed out that even if the DVLA had been notified of the 2010 incident "the worst that could have happened" was a maximum 12-month suspension and a return of his licence if there were no further concerns, and that the DVLA had returned Clarke's licence even after the 2014 crash. Based on this lack of evidence, he cast doubt on the prospect of a court granting authority for a private prosecution. The inquiry determined that no reference from First to the council could be found despite a detailed search.[
On 4 October 2015 Clarke was arrested for allegedly driving a car on 20 September, in contravention of the withdrawal on 25 June 2015 of his car licence for a year.][ He resigned from his post on 30 October, shortly before he was due to attend a disciplinary hearing to consider reports that he had failed to disclose issues in relation to his health.
On 9 December 2016, the bereaved families were told that private prosecution for Clarke has been ruled out.
]
Vehicle
In January 2018, an investigation by SWD Media found that Glasgow City Council was still in possession of the Green DAF CF 75-310 bin lorry. The vehicle was purchased in April 2016 for an undisclosed fee – the lorry's lease had been due to end on 22 March 2018.
The vehicle had been stored in a secret location since the Fatal Accident Enquiry concluded in December 2015 and although repairable, council chiefs had always hoped to buy the vehicle outright and scrap it out of respect to the victims’ families. A council spokesman confirmed: "Our position remains the same – we feel it is inappropriate to put the vehicle back on the road".
Reactions
Scottish First Minister
The first minister of Scotland ( sco, heid meinister o Scotland; gd, prìomh mhinistear na h-Alba ) is the head of the Scottish Government and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The first minister chairs ...
Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician serving as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. She has been a member of ...
gave a statement following the accident saying that her "thoughts are with everyone involved in this tragic incident, and especially with the friends and families of the six people who lost their lives in what is another sad day for Glasgow and Scotland".
The Scottish Labour
Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak of ...
leader, Jim Murphy
James Francis Murphy (born 23 August 1967) is a Scottish former politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2014 to 2015 and Secretary of State for Scotland from 2008 to 2010. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for East Ren ...
, the Scottish Conservative
The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party ( gd, Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Tory an Unionist Pairty), often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a centre-right political par ...
leader, Ruth Davidson
Ruth Elizabeth Davidson, Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (born 10 November 1978), is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2011 to 2019 and Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party in the Scottish ...
, the Prime Minister, David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
, the Opposition leader
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
, Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel "Ed" Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliband ...
, Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
and leading Scottish religious figures all publicly expressed their condolences. Many compared it to the helicopter crash
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
in the city the previous December.[
]
Bereaved families
In a BBC television documentary broadcast, relatives of the victims and survivors of the incident maintained that they had been told by a Crown Office official in one to one meetings that Clarke's prior blackout happened in a canteen
{{Primary sources, date=February 2007
Canteen is an Australian national support organisation for young people (aged 12–25) living with cancer; including cancer patients, their brothers and sisters, and young people with parents or primary carers ...
, instead the driving seat of a bus, and that his obesity
Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...
and lack of intelligence were major factors in not charging him.
Memorials
On the day following the crash all flags on Scottish Government buildings were flown at half-mast
Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a salu ...
; the Christmas lights on George Square
George Square ( gd, Ceàrnag Sheòrais) is the principal civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of six squares in the city centre, the others being Cathedral Square, St Andrew's Square, St Enoch Square, Royal Exchange Sq ...
were switched off and the attractions closed as a mark of respect. A special service was held in St George's–Tron Church the same day. Further special services were held at Glasgow's St Andrew's Cathedral and Glasgow Cathedral
Glasgow Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Ghlaschu) is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest cathedral in mainland Scotland and the oldest building in Glasgow. The cathedral was the seat of the Archbishop ...
on 24 December.
An appeal fund for the victims was set up with initial contributions from the Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council
Glasgow City Council is the local government authority for the City of Glasgow, Scotland. It was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, largely with the boundaries of the post-1975 City of Glasgow district of the S ...
and the office of the Lord Provost of Glasgow
The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Glasgow is the convener of the Glasgow City Council. Elected by the city councillors, the Lord Provost serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city. The office is equiv ...
.
Previous similar incident
In the aftermath of the incident, media attention drew parallels with a similar previous fatalities to pedestrians in Glasgow city centre, in which two girls were killed on a 2010 Christmas shopping trip by a Range Rover that hit them on the pavement in North Hanover Street. The mothers said they were still waiting for the Crown Office to do their job.[''Herald Scotland'', 13 February 2014]
Driver 'had no blackout history'
Retrieved 8 February 2015[''Daily Record'' and ''Sunday Mail'', Julie-Anne Barnes, 11 January 2015]
Mums of tragic girls killed by unconscious driver in Glasgow tragedy tell of anger at delays into crash probe
Retrieved 8 February 2015 Charges against the driver of the Range Rover, a 53-year-old man, were dropped. He testified at an official inquiry that prior to the incident in which the girls were killed he had suffered blackouts, and the deaths were as a result of him suffering a loss of consciousness owing to an undiagnosed medical condition, which he had failed to disclose when submitting his driving licence application. The case received a great deal of newspaper and television publicity when the inquiry ended in November 2014 and the bereaved families called for him to face charges.[BBC News GLASGOW & WEST SCOTLAND, 19 November 2014]
Parents want blackout death driver William Payne prosecuted
/ref>
References
{{Road incidents in the United Kingdom
Glasgow bin lorry crash
Glasgow bin lorry crash
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
2010s road incidents in the United Kingdom
2010s in Glasgow
December 2014 events in the United Kingdom
Disasters in Glasgow
Road incidents in Scotland