M9 crashed car lay for two days with people dying inside after 'organisational failure' in police call handling

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A crashed car lay ­undiscovered for days with two people inside after an “organisational failure” in police call handling, a fatal accident inquiry has found.Lamara Bell, 25, and John Yuill, 28, died after their car left the M9 near Stirling on July 5, 2015, as they drove back from a camping trip.They lay in their Renault Clio for three days before being discovered on July 8, despite a call to police.Dad-of-five John died at the scene.

Mum-of-two Lamara died four days later in hospital. Sheriff James Williamson said there was no system to match officers’ notes with action taken.He wrote: “The failure of Police Scotland to ­properly risk assess the call handling procedures and have a system of reconciliation was an ­organisational failure, a failure which led to the safety of the public being compromised and to the events of July 5.”The inquiry heard Lamara would probably have survived if she’d had treatment on July 5.

Sheriff Williamson also found that former sergeant Brian Henry, who failed to log a call reporting the incident, was ­inadequately trained.He noted that the Bilston Glen call centre had been under pressure amid staffing shortages, and officers were confused about the system.Last night, James McMillan, grandad of Lamara’s 14-year-old son Kieran, said: “Hindsight and investigations are a great thing but the fact remains that Lamara and John are not here.

No amount of handwringing self-inspection and money can compensate for that.”Police Scotland was asked to comment.Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send