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Updated 12.25pm
POLICE IN SCOTLAND have confirmed that three of the people killed in yesterday’s horrific bin lorry crash in Glasgow were all members of the same family.
Sky News reports that an elderly couple and their granddaughter were among the six victims.
They have been named on social media as Jack and Lorraine Sweeney and their teenage granddaughter Erin McQuade.
A football club in Canada, where Jack Sweeney was a former president, posted the following statement:
It is with great shock and sadness we share with you our friend and past President Jack Sweeney, his wife Lorraine and granddaughter Erin were victims of today’s tragedy in Glasgow. Our thoughts and prayers go to the Family and friends of the Sweeney family.
Earlier, police asked members of the public to send any footage they have from the scene to them.
Police Scotland / TwitterAny photos, videos, any type of mobile footage of #GeorgeSquare road incident please send it to georgesquareincident@scotland.pnn.police.uk.
— Police Scotland (@PoliceScotland) December 22, 2014
Six people – five females and one man – were killed when a city council bin truck mounted the pavement and crashed into a group of Christmas shoppers. It continued down the path for another 300 metres before hitting the Millenium Hotel building.
Another ten people, including the driver, received treatment in hospital. Six remain in hospital with two moved to the Intensive Therapy Unit for further monitoring.
Witnesses have said they saw the driver of the refuse lorry slumped over the wheel before the incident. It is thought that he became ill while driving but he was able to communicate after the collision.
Police believe there was nothing sinister about the crash.
“It is a road traffic collision with multiple fatalities,” police superintendent Stewart Carle told reporters, adding: “It does not look to be a criminal or deliberate attack.”
The bodies of those who died in the tragedy have now been taken away from the scene. Mourners have started to leave floral tributes at the site.
The Christmas lights have also been turned off on George Square. Flags have also been lowered to half mast as a mark of respect to the victims.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called it a “sad day for Glasgow and Scotland” and urged anyone who was in the area at the time of the accident to contact their loved ones.
“My thoughts are with everyone involved in this tragic incident, and especially with the friends and families of the six people who lost their lives,” she said in a statement.
With reporting by AFP
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Such a sad accident.
Very very sad for those families and it so close to christmas. R.I.P
will be hard for the driver to deal with killing those people and christmas will never be the same for him or the other family. such a tragic accident.
They believe the driver had a heart attack
Did he die? Bet he wishes he did which is understandable. But end of the day it was a horrible accident
It’s just sad, my heart goes out to the families and friends of the victims of this terrible accident, maybe if something like the dead man’s switch in trains could be installed in trucks, that could prevent something like that happen again
Two generations of a family wiped out within a matter of seconds . Bless them and there family’s
Tragic. It’s been a bad few weeks for the world. Awful stuff.
True Trevor…least not forget the many people killed in ‘warzones’ where western forces are at play but are not reported by the mainstream media too
God.lve them all…thoughts and prayers with everyone..
Surely in a busy shopping centre CCTV cameras were
in operation,it seems to have happened so quickly.
Reported that lorry was travelling up to 50mph in a busy
packed area,seems unbelievable a bit like the helicopter
crashing into the pub last year.
Paranoid much?
If the driver had a heart attack, which I understand he did, then his foot could have easily pressed the accelerator, so briefly traveling at 50mph until crashing is not an unlikely scenario.
Terrible tragedy. RIP.
Given the speed at which lorries accelerate, the way they are geared and the fact he was in a built up are I’d find 50mph highly unbelievable. Chances are he was doing a little over the speed limit by the time he mounted the path. A tragic accident and nothing could have prevented it unfortunately!
God.lve them all…thoughts and prayers with everyone..
Too sad, for everyone affected my heart goes out to you.
God.lve them all…thoughts and prayers with everyone..
I’m at a loss as to why anyone on here conveying their sadness and condolences to those who lost their lives would be red thumbed, a lot of sick f**ers on this site. Anyway we should be used to some of the clowns on here at this stage, but it still beggars belief. May those who lost their loves rest in peace, and god give strength to their loved ones left behind.
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