JOHN Swinney has paid tribute to the victims of a bin lorry crash in Glasgow which left six people dead.
Sunday, December 23 marks ten years since the accident when the city was full of people Christmas shopping.
Those killed were Jack and Lorraine Sweeney, 68 and 69, and their 18-year-old granddaughter Erin McQuade, from Dumbarton.
Stephenie Tait, 28, and Jacqueline Morton, 51, both from Glasgow and Gillian Ewing, 52, from Edinburgh were also killed.
A further 15 people were injured after the Glasgow City Council truck veered out of control after driver Harry Clarke collapsed at the wheel.
Writing on Twitter/X, Swinney said: “Today we remember those who lost their lives, and those who were injured or affected by the bin lorry crash in Glasgow 10 years ago.
“It was a shocking and traumatic day and we remember all those who suffered.”
The lorry had travelled along the pavement on Queen Street before crashing into the side of the Millennium Hotel in George Square.
An inquiry into the incident was held in 2015 and found that it took just 19 seconds to unfold.
It found the accident could have been avoided had Clarke told the truth about his medical history, after it emerged he had previously blacked out while at the wheel of a stationary bus.
Speaking to STV, Right Reverend Dr Gregor Duncan spoke about his memories of the day.
He said: “That afternoon I went out, and when I went back the road was closed off with lots of people around.
“I saw human remains on the road, some covered, some not. I realised something terrible had happened and went back to my office and put my clerical dress on.
“Someone said to me out of the crowd, ‘five souls, father’ – by which she meant five people had been killed, at that stage, I didn’t know how.
“She might have been asking me to pray for them. It happened soon after the Clutha and the city felt stricken – I think it felt afflicted.
“The time of year made it even worse. Some tragedies happen out of thin air, but others happen because of human error or human folly.”
During the course of the incident, numerous members of the public said they saw Clarke unconscious and slumped forward in the driver’s seat.
Then lord advocate Frank Mulholland made the decision not to prosecute Clarke in 2016, and said he knew it was “not a popular one”.
Crown lawyers decided not to prosecute as they felt there was “insufficient evidence” to show Clarke had broken the law.
The £6.5 million sought would have compensated the council for the money it paid to the relatives of those who were killed in the collision.
