THE families of two students who were killed by a driver with a history of blackouts have shown solidarity to the loved ones of those who died in the George Square bin lorry crash, by making an appearance at the fatal accident inquiry.
Relatives of Laura Stewart, 20, and Mhairi Convy, 18, who were hit by driver William Payne when he passed out at the wheel of his Range Rover in North Hanover Street, Glasgow, in December 2010, attended the hearing to hear Harry Clarke relive the moments before he passed out in the Glasgow bin lorry crash, killing six people in December last year.
Miss Stewart's mother Linda and aunt Catherine Cairney joined Miss Convy's mother and father Aileen and Alan at the city's sheriff court.
While it was previously revealed the Range Rover driver suffered six previous blackouts and failed to notify the DVLA about them, as in the George Square case, the Crown Office said that they would not prosecute the driver.
The families have called for Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland to resign in the light of both cases, and have filed an “extensive complaint” detailing their unhappiness with the delay in reaching a decision in their case, the way they were treated by the Crown and how a Fatal Accident Inquiry into the girls’ deaths, which took place last year, was conducted.
Catherine Cairney, speaking on behalf on both families, said they intended to attend again today saying they "wanted to show our support for the families and to hear what the driver would or could say".
She said: "We were prepared for the worst; the environment and the similarities. We know what the families must have been feeling.
"We wanted to see what the resourcing looked like, and how the questioning was led in comparison to what we experienced in our fatal accident inquiry.
"But primarily it was like Groundhog Day for us. It was an absolutely a harrowing experience, but we are four-and-a-half years into our fight with the Crown Office and we have been where those families are now and we are absolutely heartbroken and devastated for them.
"We thought it is too soon for them (to hear from us) as they are very much grieving, and we are, you never get over a loss like that. But we are here if they need anything, at all, from us."
Mr Payne, who was 50 at the time Miss Stewart and Miss Convy were killed, was initially charged with causing death by dangerous driving while uninsured, but the charges against him were dropped the following year.
The FAI in the case took place in 2014, but the Crown had still failed to reach a final decision on prosecution. The result of this was that the driver refused to answer any questions in fear of incriminating himself, only for the Crown to decide in March this year he should not face proceedings. The Stewart and Convy families claim this has left them with no answers and no justice.
Officials have agreed to undertake a review of the 2010 case, looking at why the decisions were made, but it will not change the outcome.
The families’ complaint is also being investigated by the Crown Office and will be passed to the Solicitor General Lesley Thomson if they do not receive a satisfactory answer.
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