Bin lorry crash driver is held over claims he drove without licence
BIN lorry crash driver Harry Clarke has been arrested after allegedly being caught driving again.
Following the crash in Glasgow which killed six people last December 22, Mr Clarke, who has a history of blackouts, was banned from the road.
His driving licence was withdrawn for 12 months by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), which also took away his HGV licence for ten years.
However, Mr Clarke is alleged to have been seen behind the wheel of a car on September 20 by a member of the public, who alerted the police.
Police Scotland last night confirmed the arrest. A police spokesman said: ‘A 58-year-old man was arrested in connection with alleged road traffic offences. A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.’
A fatal accident inquiry in June into the bin lorry crash heard claims Mr Clarke collapsed at the wheel of his bin lorry after lying repeatedly about his medical history. He failed to tell his employer, Glasgow City Council, that he had previously blacked out at the wheel while driving a bus for FirstGroup, passing out for up to ten seconds.
The inquiry heard the driver had told his GP, after the incident in 2010, that it had taken place in the staff canteen.
Mr Clarke had suffered a litany of health problems, including dizzy spells, blackouts and anxiety attacks over 40 years. But it was suggested during the inquiry that he lied on DVLA forms and to employers about his health to ‘find a job and keep a job’.
However, the Crown Office controversially decided not to prosecute the father of one after he lost control of his 26ton bin lorry, which mounted the pavement and killed six people before crashing into Glasgow’s Millennium Hotel.
Those who died just before Christmas in the city centre were Jack Sweeney, 68, his wife Lorraine, 69, and their 18-year-old granddaughter Erin McQuade, Gillian Ewing, 52, Jacqueline Morton, 51, and Stephanie Tait, 29.
Another 15 people were injured, including 14-year- old Alix Stewart, who was dragged for around 30 yards and had her ear torn off.
The family of Mrs Morton are seeking their own private prosecution.
The DVLA withdrew both driving licences from Mr Clarke in May, just before the inquiry.
It later emerged that he could still have been driving if it had
Allegedly seen behind the wheel
not begun when it did. The agency originally approved the return of the driver’s licence in April, just four months after the crash, but the decision was revoked because of evidence gathered by DVLA lawyers about his previous collapse.
Solicitor advocate Ronnie Conway asked Dr Gareth Parry, senior medical adviser for the DVLA, if Mr Clarke might have been allowed to keep driving cars and large vehicles if this had been the case.
Dr Parry, who gave evidence during the inquiry, answered: ‘That’s a possibility.’
The bin lorry driver, from Baillieston, Glasgow, refused to answer many questions when he took to the stand at the FAI, for fear of incriminating himself.
He told the inquiry he blacked out ‘like a light switch’.
Following the crash, he continued working at Shieldhall waste depot i n Glasgow, although he did not drive any bin lorries. Glasgow City Council suspended him in August, and last month he failed to attend a disciplinary hearing due to ill health.
No date has been set for a court hearing following Mr Clarke’s arrest and there was no answer yesterday from his home, where he lives alone.
It is believed drivers can be fined up to £5,000 for getting behind the wheel after their licence is revoked on medical grounds, while the maximum jail sentence is six months.
A spokesman for the Crown Office confirmed it is expecting a report from police.