You’re killing people, Harry
Desperate plea to driver in bin lorry horror
A FRANTIC binman screamed ‘You’re killing people, Harry’ at the driver of a runaway bin lorry as it careered along a Glasgow street packed with Christmas shoppers, a fatal accident inquiry has heard.
Refuse worker Matthew Telford broke down as he relived the terrifying seconds after driver Harry Clarke slumped unconscious over the steering wheel as his vehicle mounted the pavement and ploughed into pedestrians on Queen Street, killing six people and injuring ten others.
Mr Telford, who is 5ft 3in tall, told the inquiry at Glasgow Sheriff Court yesterday he reached over from the back seat where he was buckled up and punched his colleague repeatedly on the back to try to revive him.
But he said he could not reach the steering wheel and was powerless to prevent the tragedy unfolding before his eyes. He finally crouched down in the back of the cab with colleague Henry Toal, hoping the lorry ‘would hit something’ to bring it to a stop.
Earlier, harrowing CCTV footage was played to the court showing members of the public being struck by the lorry as it sped along the pavement by the city’s Gallery of Modern Art, while others fled for their lives across the path of the oncoming vehicle as it skimmed a wall before returning to the road.
One couple threw a buggy containing their three-year-old granddaughter out into the middle of Queen Street to save her being hit. Other pedestrians are shown rushing to help those who had been injured seconds after the crash.
None of the relatives of the victims chose to remain in court during the screening of the footage, which played without sound for less than one minute, after Sheriff John Beckett, QC, warned them of its ‘distressing’ content.
Earlier, Sheriff Beckett had opened proceedings with a minute’s silence to remember the victims and those who had been injured and traumatised by the events of December 22, 2014.
Offering his condolences to family members, Sheriff Beckett said: ‘I can only imagine the shock, pain and anguish which you have suffered following your sudden and terrible loss. I extend my sympathy also to all of those who were injured and traumatised.’
Erin McQuade, 18, her grandparents Jack Sweeney, 68, and his 69-year-old wife Lorraine, all from Dumbarton, died when the driver l ost control three days before Christmas.
Stephenie Tait, 29, and Jacqueline Morton, 51, both from Glasgow, and Gillian Ewing, 52, from Edinburgh, were also killed when the vehicle mounted the pavement before crashing into the side of the Millennium Hotel in George Square.
The court heard that all the victims died at 2.29pm on that fateful Monday from ‘multiple injuries, the pattern of which was consistent with being struck by a large, heavy vehicle’.
Mr Telford, 46, the first witness to give evidence, described how he felt the bin lorry ‘slightly veer to the left’ then turned to Mr Clarke and asked, ‘What are you doing Harry?’, at which point he saw him ‘slumped’ at the wheel.
He told the inquiry: ‘I asked again, “Harry what are you f****** doing?” then noticed his whole body slumped to the left. I realised Mr Clarke’s hands were not on the wheel. Then panic set in.’
He told the inquiry there were no council protocols for dealing with drivers who had been ‘rendered unconscious’ so he tried anything he could to get a response.
He said: ‘I started screaming at him. I started punching him on the back. I was trying to get a response from him. I didn’t get anything from him.’
At that point, the lorry mounted the pavement near a bin. Mr Telford told the court: ‘I thought it hit three women next to the bin.’
He added: ‘I shouted, “You’re killing people, Harry!” but there was no response. We missed the statue of Wellington by inches.’
Mr Telford became increasingly emotional and wiped away tears as he recalled how he thought the bin lorry hit two people before heading toward George Square and smashing into a Skoda taxi.
It finally hit the facade of the Millennium Hotel, beside Queen Street rail station.
After the lorry came to a stop, Mr Telford said he took off his seatbelt and jumped out then heard Mr Clarke ‘groaning’ and saw he was a ‘ shade of grey I’ve never seen before’. Ten minutes after the crash, he said he spoke to Mr Clarke, who he said ‘didn’t really know where he was’.
Asked to reflect on the events of that day, Mr Telford added: ‘I don’t think I could have done anything different but I am always going to be asking myself that question.’
He said the truck ‘seemed to slow down then speed up again’ during the terrifying journey, adding that he believed the bin lorry started at 10mph and estimated it accelerated to 30 or 40mph during the crash.
Solicitor General Lesley Thomson, who is leading the inquiry, asked the witness if there was anything out of the ordinary before the crash.
Mr Telford replied: ‘Not that I can recall. We were in quite a joyful mood because it was Christmas. We were talking about Christmas and about football. It was just an ordinary day.’
Under cross-examination, he was asked about a second accident three months later when a bin lorry ploughed through a hedge in Croftfoot, Glasgow, after the driver appeared to take ill, but said: ‘It was so close to the other accident, I didn’t wish to hear about it.’
The FAI was launched after prosecutors said there was no evidence to warrant criminal proceedings in the case. The inquiry is expected to examine Mr Clarke’s medical background, his fitness to hold a licence and his employment record and training. It will also look at whether or not anything could have been done to halt the lorry and explore the route it took.
Mr Telford told the court Mr Clarke had a problem with his hand and was due to have an operation on a bone in his foot but confirmed the driver never complained of other health problems, including dizziness or feeling faint.
He said refuse staff receive training to operate the backs of bin lorries, which are classed as dangerous, but said he was given ‘no infor- mation’ about driving the lorry or how to operate the brakes.
Risk assessments were carried out by supervisors on routes travelled by bin lorries and Mr Clarke would start his shift earlier in order to carry out vehicle safety checks.
However, since the George Square crash, drivers and crew of bin lorries now receive a risk assessment and route forms ‘every morning’.
The route that day was allegedly supposed to f i nished between 2.30pm and 3pm – the accident occurred at 2.29pm.
A joint minute of agreement read
‘I shouted, “You’re
killing people”’
out to the court at the start of proceedings also hinted at the mayhem wreaked by the out- of- control lorry.
The vehicle first mounted a pavement at the Gallery of Modern Art before striking a metal bin and then the first pedestrians.
Three stationary cars were hit by the lorry at George Square while a number of signs and traffic light polls were also hit.
The minute states: ‘ During the course of the incident, numerous members of the public saw Harry Clarke unconscious. He was slumped forward and to the left in the driver’s seat with his hands on the steering wheel.
‘He was wearing a seatbelt but his head and body were moving in an uncontrolled manner with the movement of the truck.’
The minute also shows the desperate lengths by panicked pedestrians to save themselves and their families from the carnage.
At one point, it states: ‘Maureen Anne Quinn and her husband Alexander Malcolm, both aged 53, were walking south of Queen Street pushing an infant’s buggy contain- ing their three -year- old granddaughter.
‘On observing the truck mount the pavement and approach them, they ran towards the roadway of Queen Street. As they did so they threw the buggy containing their grandchild out onto the road to avoid being struck.
‘None of them were struck by the truck but they all sustained minor injuries as a result of the impact from landing on the roadway.’
Another man, George Reid, who was driving his taxi after dropping off a passenger was knocked uncon- scious after his vehicle was struck by the bin lorry and forced into the canopy area of the nearby Millennium Hotel.
The inquiry heard the condition of the road, which was damp but had no surface water, had no effect on what happened and driving visibility was excellent. The court heard the truck was fully serviced and a number of safety modifications had been added before it was handed over to Glasgow City Council.
There was nothing to suggest the incident was a deliberate act and the vehicle had ‘no pre- collision defects’ that could have led to the loss of control of the vehicle, but it sustained extensive damage in the crash.
Footage of the lorry after the crash was shown to the court. It showed the entire cab pushed back due to the impact, which crushed the exhaust stack, while the headlights of the vehicle were smashed and the front bumper sustained major damage. The keys were shown still in the ignition.
The inquiry, which is expected to last four to six weeks, continues.