Family’s grief after man left to die on bus
● Stagecoach passenger suffers heart attack on journey
The grief-stricken relatives of a young Fife father who died after taking ill on a bus and lying unnoticed for nearly five hours have spoken of their pain.
Father-of-three Gavin Wudinge, 31, from Dunfermline, suffered a cardiac arrest shortly after getting on a coach heading for Leven on 23 December.
But he was left dying in his seat until being found by a passenger in Edinburgh several hours later.
He died in hospital on Boxing Day.
The grieving family of a young father have told of their torment after he was left dying on a bus – for almost five hours.
Gavin Wudinge, 31, had only been on a Stagecoach bus for around half an hour before slumping in his seat after suffering a cardiac arrest.
But the father-of-three was left dying on the seat in the middle of the bus before being found by a passenger at Edinburgh Bus Station several hours later.
Mr wu ding ego ton the coach in his hometown of Dunfermline on 23 December and was heading for Leven when he suffered the heart attack around 1:10pm. It emerged that he was even left on the bus alone for around 90 minutes while the vehicle was put out of service in Leven.
And despite a change of driver,it was only at 5:55 pm that mr Wudinge was discovered without a heartbeat by another passenger on arrival in the Capital. Paramedics raced to the scene, battled to save him and managed to restart his heart after 30 minutes. But he tragically passed away in hospital on Boxing Day surrounded by his family, including his three daughters, aged 13, ten and 18 months.
Mr Wudinge ’s family, including his mother who had travelled from Ireland, spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at the much-loved father’s bedside. They have since been shown the CCTV footage of his ordeal on the bus by police officers.
Family friend Lesley Irvine, 35, said: “He was basically brain-dead by the time he was discovered.
“He had been losing oxygen from his brain after suffering a cardiac arrest. If the driver took 30 seconds to inspect the bus while he had parked it in Leven then Gavin would have had a fighting chance of survival. To have three drivers go on the bus and have him lie there-forf-our-and-a-half-hours before he got noticed is unacceptable.
“We’re not blaming Stagecoach but we are questioning their duty of care. all we want is an apology and a change in the culture of Stagecoach where they will take responsibility and look after their passengers.”
A spokeswoman for Stagecoach said: “A passenger on one of our services on 23 December was discovered in a serious medical condition upon arrival in Edinburgh.
“Our driver alerted bus station staff who contacted the emergency services. Our thoughts are with the family and we are providing any assistance we can to the police.”
A police spokesman said: “Police in Edinburgh were informed of the death of a 31-year-old man, on 26 December, having been found seriously ill on a bus at Edinburgh Bus Station on 23 December.
“Inquiries are ongoing, however, there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding this death and a report has been sent to the Procurator Fiscal.”