Boyfriend Dies While Girlfriend Lay Seriously Injured In Wrecked Car For Three Days, Police Apologizes For Failing To Investigate Reported Car Crash
Three days after a car accident took place off of M9 on Sterling Services in Loch Earn, Stirlingshire, the body of a 28-year-old man and his seriously injured girlfriend were found aside the road in their wrecked car, according to Mirror.
Lamara Bell, 25, and her boyfriend John Yuill of Falkirk were driving when their vehicle swerved off the road, killing Yuill instantly and seriously injuring Bell.
The accident was immediately reported, but local police officials failed to investigate the accident, leaving Bell and her dead boyfriend stranded in the wrecked car for three days.
Couple ‘lay on roadside for 3 days after cops failed to investigate crash’ http://t.co/EmbRuaBQvj pic.twitter.com/qyJQ6Mq9av
— Daily Mirror (@DailyMirror) July 8, 2015
The couple was reported missing by their families after the couple never returned home. Three days after the missing couple was involved in the car accident, police received a call about a wrecked, blue Renault Clio aside the road.
When police investigated, they found the pair stranded inside. Bell was immediately transported to Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital where she remains in a medically induced coma — doctors say her condition is serious.
“She will be in hospital for a good few months. We don’t know what she is going to be like,” said her mother Dianne Bell. “She’s happy-go-lucky and has a great personality.”
The Scotland Chief of Police released an apologetic statement to the public after police officials failed to investigate the car crash as soon as it was reported.
“Firstly I want to apologise to the families of John Yuill and Lamara Bell and to the people of Scotland for this individual failure in our service. Everyone in Police Scotland feels this most profoundly,” said Stephen House.
“I completely understand the level of concern being raised about the circumstances surrounding the handling of the incident of the crash near the M9 slip road at Bannockburn, and in particular, Police Scotland’s response to information received that we failed both families involved, is without doubt.”
“However, I want to make clear to members of the public, and all those who have rightly expressed concern, that the mistakes made in not responding to the call from a member of the public on Sunday July 5 arose because the information received was not entered on to our systems,” he continued.
“We know that just prior to 11.30am on Sunday July 5 2015 a member of the public contacted Police Scotland via the 101 system to report that they could see a vehicle down an embankment near the M9 slip road at Bannockburn.
Police chief admits failure and apologises over tragic crash couple http://t.co/mzRVM2Y0sI pic.twitter.com/8uKwVutuVj
— Daily Mirror (@DailyMirror) July 10, 2015
“All callers to 101 receive an electronic options menu. This call was answered within six seconds following that message by an experienced officer and the relevant details were given by the caller.”
“For reasons yet to be established this call was not entered on to our police systems and not actioned out to operational teams in the Stirling area to respond and trace the vehicle.”
[Image courtesy of John Cowpland / Getty Images]
