£100k f ine for police over death of mother left injured in crash car for three days
POLICE admitted blame in court yesterday over the death of a young mother who lay seriously injured in a crashed car for three days after the accident was reported.
A police call handler blunder meant no search was made and the incident was not even recorded.
But three days after the car crashed off the M9 near Stirling into a wooded area, a member of the public found lamara Bell, 25, in the wreckage next to the body of her partner John Yuill, 28.
Now, six years after the tragedy, Police Scotland have admitted their failings ‘materially contributed’ to Miss Bell’s death in July 2015. The mother-of-two would probably have survived if she had been found sooner, the High court in edinburgh heard.
The force pleaded guilty to a criminal breach of health and safety laws and was fined £100,000.
Passing the sentence, lord Beckett said Miss Bell endured ‘days of severe physical suffering when she must have been in an almost unimaginable state of anxiety’. He added that when setting the fine he took into account it would come from public money.
Miss Bell’s family welcomed the guilty plea. Her mother Diane said: same day. But the call handler ‘The absence of answers and recognition did not create an incident for has been the biggest the call on the computer system strain because it is the not knowing and no patrol was sent to investigate. that makes everything worse. on 8 July another member it has taken a long time for this of the public noticed the car conviction to be secured but it is and found Miss Bell moving her a huge relief.’ The scandal caused arms and moaning. She said by the tragedy led to a major
‘help me, get me out’. investigation into the police call
The man called 999 and Miss handling system and prompted
Bell was airlifted to hospital but the resignation of then chief constable Sir Stephen House. died four days later. She had suffered
The couple were returning serious injuries including from a camping trip to loch
earn when they lost control and hurtled down an embankment.
Mr Yuill, who held a provisional licence, was driving the Renault clio when the accident happened at around 6.15am on 5 July. Prosecutor Ashley edwards Qc told the court he died either at or shortly after the time of the accident. His injuries were not survivable even if found quickly.
Mr edwards said a member of the public noticed the car and called the police at 11.29am the to her skull and brain and developed acute meningitis.
The court heard she may have survived if police had found her after the original call. Mr edwards said experts had agreed that ‘had lamara Bell been admitted to hospital within six to eight hours of her primary injury’ she would have likely survived, ‘albeit with some longterm neurological disability’.
The force pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and admitted it had failed to ensure it was ‘not vulnerable to unacceptable risks arising from human error’.
It also admitted that it did not ensure all relevant information reported by the public was recorded on an IT system and that its failings ‘materially contributed’ to Miss Bell’s death.
The office of the chief constable of Police Scotland admitted it failed to provide a reliable call handling system between April 2013 and March 2016.
The crash took place against a backdrop of the restructuring of police control rooms following the creation of Police Scotland.
Murdo Macleod Qc, representing Police Scotland, said reviews of the call handling system were carried out in the wake of the tragedy and the 38 recommendations have been implemented.
‘Help me, get me out’