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Home / World

Glasgow truck deaths: 'An abyss of loss'

Daily Mail
25 Dec, 2014 02:03 AM6 mins to read

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Lorraine Sweeney and her granddaughter Erin were among those killed in the crash. Photo / Instagram

Lorraine Sweeney and her granddaughter Erin were among those killed in the crash. Photo / Instagram

A 14-year-old girl is the youngest of five people seriously injured in hospital after they were knocked down in the Glasgow bin lorry crash.

The teenager is being cared for at the city's Royal Infirmary, where her condition is said to be 'serious but stable'.

The accident - in which a refuse truck ploughed into pedestrians and Christmas shoppers in the city's George Square on Monday - claimed the lives of six people and left a further 10 injured.

The conditions of those still in hospital were revealed today as the Archbishop of Glasgow told how he comforted a mother who saw her teenage daughter and both of her parents 'killed almost right in front of her'.

Archbishop Philip Tartaglia said Jacqueline McQuade wept from the 'abyss of loss' after her student daughter Erin McQuade, 18, and Mrs McQuade's parents Jack and Lorraine Sweeney, from Dumbarton, were fatally injured in the accident.

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Primary teacher Stephenie Tait, Edinburgh's Gillian Ewing and Jacqueline Morton, who was pictured for the first time today, were also killed when the council truck mounted the pavement before crashing into the side of the Millennium Hotel in George Square.

A statement released on behalf of Ms Morton's family said: 'Partner John, sons Adam, Scott and the family are deeply shocked and saddened about the tragic accident on Monday culminating in the loss of our Jacqueline.

'We would like to pass on our thoughts and prayers to other families affected by this tragedy.

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'We would like to pass on our thanks to the people who got to Jacqueline first and also to the emergency services at this difficult time.'

Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board confirmed today that five patients are still being treated in hospital for injuries they suffered in Monday's crash.

Two women, aged 18 and 64, are both in a stable condition at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.

Another woman, aged 49, is in a stable condition at the city's Southern General Hospital, while a 57-year-old man being treated at the Western Infirmary is also stable.

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A health board statement said: 'Five patients remain in three hospitals in Glasgow following Monday's tragic incident in George Square.

'Three patients remain in Glasgow Royal Infirmary. One is a 14-year-old girl who is serious but stable, one is an 18-year-old female and one is a 64-year-old female, both of whom are stable.

'A 57-year-old man is being treated at the Western Infirmary and is in a stable condition. A 49-year-old female, who is being treated at the Southern General Hospital, is stable.'

Mother Jacqueline McQuade is believed to have gone to take out money from a cash machine during the Christmas shopping trip when her 18-year-old daughter and parents were struck by the out-of-control bin lorry.

Archbishop Tartaglia told a memorial mass at Glasgow's St Andrew's Cathedral that he spent time with those who had lost their loved ones on Monday evening, just hours after the incident.

He said: 'On the evening of the tragedy, I was privileged to be permitted to spend some time with one of the families who had been cruelly devastated by the incident.

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'I was able to witness and share the grief and sadness of a mother and of a father for their daughter, and of two daughters for their mother and father.

'The distressed woman to whom I was speaking had seen her daughter and her own parents killed almost right in front of her. Can you imagine the horror?

'I tried to console them and comfort them. We spoke and we cried and we were silent before the abyss of their loss and the random meaninglessness of what had happened.

'They openly spoke of their faith, but their faith was sorely tried, and I commended them silently to God that the Lord would find the way to bring them comfort.'

The Christmas lights were turned back on in George Square today, as Glasgow tries to move on from the tragedy, although the winter carnival rides and ice rink will not reopen until noon on Boxing Day.

Ten people were were also left injured when the bin lorry veered out of control outside the Gallery of Modern Art at about 2.30pm on Monday.

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It struck a pedestrian before continuing up Queen Street and hitting several other people, only coming to a halt when it crashed into the hotel.

Archbishop Tartaglia said today's service was taking place 'for the victims of the tragic incident' in George Square, which happened just over a year after the Clutha disaster claimed the lives of 10 people when a police helicopter crashed into a crowded pub.

In his sermon the archbishop said: 'Just over a year ago, we had the Clutha disaster, and now we have this George Square tragedy when a heavy refuse lorry ran out of control, killing six people and seriously injuring 10 others. By all accounts, it was an horrific incident.

He offered his 'deepest, prayerful, heartfelt sympathies and condolences' to all those who lost loved ones in the incident and added: 'We pray for those who were injured in Monday's incident. We are so relieved that they escaped death and we hope that they make a full recovery from their injuries.'

Archbishop Tartaglia said the crash 'traumatised witnesses and passers-by' and left communities' shocked and saddened'.

He told the congregation that Glasgow was now 'reeling from this latest sad and sudden tragedy'.

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He said the 'bereaved and devastated families may not feel the joy of Christmas because of their deep sadness and distress' as he spoke of their 'grief, their bewilderment, their anger, their desperation, their unanswered questions'.

He added: 'I wish I could take all that away, but I know that my words are completely inadequate.'

Mr Sweeney, 68, was a former president of Bramalea Celtic supporters' club in Canada. The club put a statement online expressing 'great shock and sadness' about his death, along with his 69-year-old wife and teenage granddaughter.

Miss McQuade was a first-year student of English literature at Glasgow University and worked at Cameron House Hotel on the banks of Loch Lomond, where she was described as 'one of our brightest and dedicated members of housekeeping staff'.

Ms Tait, 29, was a primary school teacher at St Philomena's Primary in Glasgow, where head Catherine Gallagher said the 'entire school community is deeply saddened by this tragic news'.

She said: 'Stephenie was an excellent young teacher, dedicated to the children. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends at this time.'

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Ms Tait had studied at Glasgow University, where principal and vice-chancellor Professor Anton Muscatelli said they were 'deeply saddened' to learn of the death of one of their current students and a graduate.

He said: 'This is an awful time for those concerned and for the wider university family.'

A council fund for the victims' families has been opened for public donations and has already received £60,000 from public bodies.

- Daily Mail

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