Son calls for answers after Cuba tragedy
Mum died after a horror crash in ambulance during trip
AMUM’S tragic death while on holiday in Cuba has left her son looking for answers. Julia McLean, from Stacksteads, had been awaiting repatriation following treatment for a fractured spine when she was badly hurt in a horrific ambulance smash on February 6.
Despite initially being informed the crash was only ‘minor’, the family were then told she had internal bleeding, and she died four days later, aged 67.
Son Nathan, 43, said: “I don’t know anything - there’s a lot of questions. I’m just looking for answers.”
ASON has paid tribute to his ‘popular and headstrong’ mum following her tragic death while on holiday in Cuba.
Julia McLean, from Stacksteads, had been awaiting repatriation following treatment for a fractured spine when she was badly hurt in a horrific ambulance smash on February 6.
Despite initially being informed the crash was only ‘minor’, family - still mourning Julia’s husband’s death last September - were then told she had internal bleeding, and she died four days later, aged 67.
Her funeral was on Tuesday, March 2, following her repatriation on February 22, but her son Nathan still needs answers.
Nathan, 43, said: “I’ve requested full disclosure as to what happened. I don’t know anything - there’s a lot of questions. The coroner’s report when we translated it from Spanish, says she suffered major trauma with broken ribs. That was as a result of the ambulance rollover. There’s a lot of loose ends.”
Nathan said the ambulance transporting his mum from hospital in Matanzas to a clinic in Havana left the road and overturned after hitting a tree.
The following day, the family received news that Julia had undergone emergency surgery due to internal bleeding, and she also had broken ribs, a collapsed lung and severe bruising.
However, she went downhill again on February 10 and suffered multiple organ failure.
Nathan, who asked his mum not to fly to Cuba because of the pandemic, understands a UK inquest will be held once the Cuban investigation into the crash is complete.
He said: “I don’t know what sort of road it was - it was referred to us as ‘the highway’. I believe it was quite a journey because they stopped for a comfort break and a coffee.
“I’ve got nothing to be angry about - the journey was made as part of her best care and upkeep. I’m just looking for answers. For a simple transport job from a to b, how does it leave the road? They told me it was only a minor incident and nobody injured, which was definitely not the case.”
Julia, who had osteoarthritis, had flown to Cuba before Christmas for a holiday and to visit her partner, only to suffer a bad fall on her birthday, December 12.
A well known and popular lady, she was a footwear worker, including at Lambert Howarth, and a regular visitor to second-hand shops and car boot sales.
Nathan said: “We have found boxes of ornaments with newspaper on dating back to 2005! She was bubbly and opinionated and headstrong. She was always popular. Losing both parents in quick succession is tough to take.”
Tuesday’s funeral was conducted by Anthony Johnson, followed by a burial at Bacup Cemetery. Julia leaves her son and daughter-in-law Nathan and Judith, grandchildren Joshua and Mollie, a sister Catherine and extended family.
A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British woman who died in a tragic incident in Cuba.”