Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
National
Fahad Tariq

Glasgow coach driver suffered fatal heart attack after falling ill at work

A Glasgow coach driver died after becoming unwell during his shift. James Cowan, known to his loved-ones as Jim, had just completed the school run for Abbey Coaches before returning back to the base on Friday, June 16.

The 57-year-old is understood to have taken unwell and asked to leave but when he got to his East Kilbride home, which he shared with wife Sharon, 54, his health took a turn for the worse.

His grief-stricken daughter, Hayley, said the dad-of-five struggled to sleep and had been vomiting.

The 26-year-old, who lives in the Kings Park area, told Glasgow Live: "When he came back to bed, my mum said he shuffled up beside her to sit up. He just looked at her and his arms flew up in the air and he fell right back.

READ MORE: Man dies at Glasgow bowling club as emergency services rush to the scene

"He wasn’t breathing and went blue. My mum phoned the ambulance and had to perform CPR on him for 15 minutes until paramedics got there - they worked on him for between two to three hours but he wasn’t coming back.

"My mum phoned me in hysterics screaming down the phone. I was in a total state of shock.

"It was so unexpected because he was healthy and quite young, I couldn’t believe what mum was saying to me. When they said he passed I was distraught and heartbroken.

"I felt as if my whole world came crumbling down right on top of me. Everyone is just heartbroken."

Jim, a grandad-of-seven, was born and raised in Rutherglen before moving to East Kilbride around 16 years ago.

Hayley has paid tribute to the 'greatest' dad (Supplied)

Paying tribute to the 'life and soul of the party', Hayley added: "He was the fun one out of everybody, he was the life and soul of the party.

"He was always making jokes. He’d make jokes while singing and you just knew he was there.

"To us he was the greatest person in the world. You couldn’t get any better

"His loss has had a massive impact on the family. He was the one everybody went to if they needed advice or to rant about anything.

"A part of me is missing now, there’s a massive hole in my heart.. His death has destroyed us all."

Jim with his sons in happier times (Supplied)

Jim's eldest son, Chris Farnon, 35, lives in Sydney, Australia. The family have now launched a GoFundMe page to help pay for a flight home after his dad's sudden death so he can be with his loved ones.

"It would mean everything to get him home.", Hayley said.

Support the fundraising appeal here.

READ NEXT -

Heartless vandals deface £200k Lanarkshire park as residents left outraged

Busy Milton road closed by emergency services after two-vehicle crash

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.