Girl, 12, killed by car with father in the passenger seat
A FATHER was a passen- ger in the car that killed his 12-year-old daughter near their home.
Abbie McLaren was thrown across the road when she was hit by a car carrying her father John in the front seat.
After the crash, Mr McLaren rushed to help – before freezing in horror when he realised the victim was his child. Miss McLaren, who has four siblings, was hit as she got off a bus at 4.15pm on Tuesday. She was taken to hospital, where she died.
A witness said Mr McLaren stood motionless at the scene while the driver desperately tried to get medical help.
The witness added: ‘I heard a loud bang and I jumped up. I saw two males in the front of the car that had been going down the road. The guy in the passenger seat got out as soon as the car stopped and ran over to where the girl was.
‘He just stood there completely frozen, he couldn’t move or say a thing.’ Talking to the Daily Record newspaper, the onlooker said: The driver ran back up to where it all happened and just kept shouting, “Does anyone know CPR?” But CPR wouldn’t have saved her, it was just awful.’
A man whose parked car was also smashed in the collision in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, said the scene was ‘horrific’.
Miss McLaren’s aunt Linda Newton, 35, rushed to Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children to support Abbie’s mother Ashley Kennedy, 29. She said: ‘When we got to the hospital, Ashley was just in total hysteria... She was totally inconsolable. It was horrific. Abbie was just a brilliant kid.’
Her grandmother, Caroline Kennedy, posted online: ‘ Well tonight my heart has been ripped out. I can’t express how I feel after my precious granddaughter Abbie was taken from us tonight, so young and so beautiful... a part of my heart has died with her too.’
Tributes to Abbie – a pupil at Dalziel High School – were left at the crash site, including a shirt signed by her friends. Robert Birch, the school’s rector, said: ‘This is a terrible tragedy and I know I’m speaking on behalf of all pupils, staff and friends at Dalziel when I
‘CPR wouldn’t have saved her’
say that Abbie’s death has been a devastating loss to the entire school community.
‘She was a very popular, happy and talented girl who will be deeply missed by everyone at the school and her family is very much in all our thoughts.
‘She had many friends here and came to school with a bright smile on her face, bringing joy to many.’
The accident has led to a petition for greater safety measures on The Loaning, a long road surrounded with schools, where the crash happened.
The petition had been signed by 9,000 people as of last night, and has gained the backing of Motherwell MP Marion Fellows.
Martin McGuire, 38, was arrested following Miss McLaren’s death and appeared in court yesterday charged with five road traffic offences. He made no plea and was remanded in custody.