M9 deaths: families wait for inquiry 7 YEARS on
THE family of a couple who died in a tragedy on the M9 are facing a ‘shocking delay for answers’, almost seven years after the crash.
A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into the deaths of Lamara Bell, 25, and John Yuill, 28, in July 2015 has still not been formally instigated.
Police call handling blunders meant officers did not attend the scene for three days, by which point Mr Yuill was dead. Ms Bell died the following day.
Ms Bell’s family received £1 million in damages from Police Scotland, which was fined £100,000 for health and safety breaches. However, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal
Service (COPFS) has yet to start an inquiry into the deaths.
Russell Findlay, Scottish Tory community safety spokesman, said: ‘Lamara Bell’s family have already endured far too much pain and heartache. For almost seven years they have had to grieve the loss of Lamara, while being treated with a callous disrespect by the authorities.
‘This why the Scottish Conservatives are introducing a Victims Law to end chronic FAI delays.’
A Crown Office spokesman said: ‘COPFS has put in place measures to ensure investigations are not unnecessarily delayed. Some cases will take longer to conclude than others. These changes reflect the commitment to timely and thorough investigation of deaths.’