Woman 'saw daughter and parents killed by Glasgow bin lorry'
The Archbishop of Glasgow has revealed that he tried to comfort a woman who had seen her teenage daughter and both her parents “killed almost right in front of her” in the bin lorry tragedy.
Archbishop Philip Tartaglia said the woman and her family wept from the “abyss of their loss” after student Erin McQuade and her grandparents Jack and Lorraine Sweeney, all from Dumbarton in Scotland, were fatally injured in the accident.
Jacqueline McQuade had reportedly gone to take out money from a cash machine during the Christmas shopping trip when her 18-year-old daughter and parents were struck by the out-of-control bin lorry.
Primary teacher Stephenie Tait and Jacqueline Morton, both from Glasgow, and Gillian Ewing, from Edinburgh, were also killed when the council truck mounted the pavement before crashing into the side of the Millennium Hotel in George Square.
Archbishop Tartaglia told a memorial mass at Glasgow’s St Andrew’s Cathedral that he spent time with those who had lost their loved ones on Monday evening, just hours after the incident.
He said: “On the evening of the tragedy, I was privileged to be permitted to spend some time with one of the families who had been cruelly devastated by the incident. I was able to witness and share the grief and sadness of a mother and of a father for their daughter, and of two daughters for their mother and father.
“The distressed woman to whom I was speaking had seen her daughter and her own parents killed almost right in front of her. Can you imagine the horror?
“I tried to console them and comfort them. We spoke and we cried and we were silent before the abyss of their loss and the random meaninglessness of what had happened. They openly spoke of their faith, but their faith was sorely tried, and I commended them silently to God that the Lord would find the way to bring them comfort.”
The Christmas lights are being turned back on in George Square today, as Glasgow tries to move on from the tragedy, although the winter carnival rides and ice rink will not reopen until noon on St Stephen's Day.
As well as those killed, 10 people were injured when the bin lorry veered out of control outside the Gallery of Modern Art at about 2.30pm on Monday. It struck a pedestrian before continuing up Queen Street and hitting several other people, only coming to a halt when it crashed into the hotel.
Archbishop Tartaglia said today’s service was taking place “for the victims of the tragic incident” in George Square, which happened just over a year after the Clutha disaster claimed the lives of 10 people when a police helicopter crashed into a crowded pub.
In his sermon the archbishop said: “Just over a year ago, we had the Clutha disaster, and now we have this George Square tragedy when a heavy refuse lorry ran out of control, killing six people and seriously injuring 10 others. By all accounts, it was an horrific incident.
“Just as we were preparing for Christmas, our city of Glasgow is in mourning again.”
He offered his “deepest, prayerful, heartfelt sympathies and condolences” to all those who lost loved ones in the incident and added: “We pray for those who were injured in Monday’s incident.
"We are so relieved that they escaped death and we hope that they make a full recovery from their injuries.”
Archbishop Tartaglia said the crash “traumatised witnesses and passers-by” and left communities“ shocked and saddened”.
He told the congregation that Glasgow was now “reeling from this latest sad and sudden tragedy”.
He said the “bereaved and devastated families may not feel the joy of Christmas because of their deep sadness and distress” as he spoke of their “grief, their bewilderment, their anger, their desperation, their unanswered questions”.
He added: “I wish I could take all that away, but I know that my words are completely inadequate.”
Mr Sweeney, 68, was a former president of Bramalea Celtic supporters’ club in Canada. The club put a statement online expressing “great shock and sadness” about his death, along with his 69-year-old wife and teenage granddaughter.
Miss McQuade was a first-year student of English literature at Glasgow University and worked at Cameron House Hotel on the banks of Loch Lomond, where she was described as “one of our brightest and dedicated members of housekeeping staff”.
Ms Tait, 29, was a primary school teacher at St Philomena’s Primary in Glasgow, where head Catherine Gallagher said the “entire school community is deeply saddened by this tragic news”.
She said: “Stephenie was an excellent young teacher, dedicated to the children. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends at this time.”
Ms Tait had studied at Glasgow University, where principal and vice-chancellor Professor Anton Muscatelli said they were “deeply saddened” to learn of the death of one of their current students and a graduate.
He said: “This is an awful time for those concerned and for the wider university family.”
A council fund for the victims’ families has been opened for public donations.
