Family of bin lorry crash victim agrees £800k deal
● Glasgow council settles three years after six people killed by bin truck
Council chiefs have agreed to pay £800,000 in compensation to the family of an Edinburgh woman killed in a bin lorry accident.
Gillian Ewing died when she was hit by a 26-ton lorry in December, 2014.
Five others were killed in the horrific incident in which lorry driver Harry Clarke was found to have lost consciousness at the wheel before the crash.
Settlements have been reached with seven affected relatives who blamed Glasgow City Council for the accident.
A spokesman for lawyers Digby Brown said the family of Ms Ewing could now “hopefully start looking to the future and rebuilding their lives”.
The family of a woman who died in a bin lorry accident has agreed a compensation deal following the tragedy.
Council chiefs from Glasgow City Council have settled compensation for seven relatives who blamed them for the city centre tragedy.
A figure of £800,000 has reportedly been agreed with the family of Gillian Ewing.
A spokesman for lawyers Digby Brown, which represents the family of Ms Ewing, said the family can now look to rebuild their lives.
He said: “We can confirm we have now settled all our civil claims associated with the family of Gillian who they described as a much-loved mother, daughter sister and partner.
“This has been a life-changing and traumatic three years for the family.
“Now at least they can hopefully start looking to the future and rebuilding their lives.”
Ms Ewing, 52, from Edinburgh, was struck by the 26-ton lorry in Glasgow city centre as daughter Lucy, 24, stood inches away in December, 2014.
Jacqueline Morton, 51, Stephenie Tait, 29, both from Glasgow, Erin Mcquade, 18, her grandparents Jack Sweeney, 68, and his 69-yearold wife Lorraine, from Dumbarton, also died in the accident.
A fatal accident inquiry found that lorry driver Harry Clarke had lost consciousness at the wheel before the crash in December 2014.
The compensation case was settled out of court last month.
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “Our insurers are working to settle claims on our behalf.
“Our thoughts remain with the bereaved families and those who were injured.”
Lucy Ewing told of her anguish on the tragedy’s first anniversary when she hit out at council chiefs for running a festive funfair yards from the smash site under the banner “Glasgow Loves Christmas”.
She said at the time: “Right now I don’t feel that I will want to celebrate Christmas ever again.
“This whole end of the year has such negative connotations and that will go on for as long as I can see.
“I can’t see it ever being an enjoyable time of year.
“It’s like living a constant nightmare and all you want to do is wake up.
“Mum was the life and soul of any party. She would walk into any room and the atmosphere would lift.”
In March last year, Clarke avoided jail after admitting culpable and reckless driving on a separate occasion just nine months after the bin lorry tragedy.
Clarke, who was 60 at the time, admitted driving a car in Glasgow on 20 September, 2015, to the danger of the public despite his licence having been revoked for medical reasons.
Clarke was sentenced at Glasgow Sheriff Court after pleading guilty to the 2015 offence.
He was given a three-year driving ban, 12-month supervision order and 150 hours’ unpaid work. He was also ordered to wear an electronic tag.
His licence had been revoked for 12 months on 27 June, 2015, and the charge stated that he knew or ought to have known that he was unfit to drive, and that there was a risk he might lose consciousness or suffer an episode of altered awareness while driving.