Driver pleads guilty to killing pensioner trapped under a bus

A bus driver who ran over and killed a pensioner outside Glasgow's main bus station in Glasgow has avoided jail, but has been banned from getting behind the wheel for a year.

George McInally, 64, hit pedestrian Roseanne McLaughlan, 71, at Glasgow's Buchanan bus station on October 7 2021.

McInally, of Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, turned into the bus station as dementia sufferer Roseanne walked across the road.

She was hit then dragged under the bus and was only freed after the fire brigade were able to lift the vehicle off of her.

Widower Roseanne suffered and later succumbed to a serious head injury while in hospital.

McInally - a driver for 40 years - was fired from his position at First Bus but had since taken a new position elsewhere.

Guilty of careless driving

McInally pled guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to causing Roseanne's death by careless driving.

Sheriff Andrew Cubie ordered McInally to do 120 hours of unpaid work and put him under supervision for 12 months.

McInally was tagged for six months keeping him indoors between 7pm and 7am.

He was also disqualified from driving for a period of 12 months.

The sheriff said: "This is a tragic case dealing with the death of a much loved and much missed Roseanne McLaughlin.

"I read victim impact statements from her four children and it is clear her sudden and unexpected death with no opportunity to say farewell had a devastating effect on the wider family, siblings, children, grandchildren and great grand children.

"She was in the thoughts of her family up until her death and plainly there is nothing the court can do to compensate or lessen that loss.

"As difficult as it is for her family to listen to, take account of her own actions.

"Her hood was up, understandably in October, which affected her all round vision and she walked off the pavement without breaking her stride or looking left or right.

"The cause of the death was for Mr McInally failing to see Roseanne when she walked along the pavement when he had four seconds to do so.

"His vision was impaired by a pillar as well as checks on his mirror.

"I conclude that an appropriate and fair sentence is the imposition of a community payback order."

Firefighters rescue

The court earlier heard that Roseanne lived independently despite suffering from dementia.

McInally had dropped off his last passenger and was to enter the station to start a short break.

Roseanne's destination was unknown but the court was told that she was wearing a red jacket with her hood up.

Prosecutor John Adams said: "As Roseanne crossed the road at the pedestrian crossing between the white line and the and the word slow on the road surface, the bus turned left to enter the station.

"On reaching the front of the road, the front near side of the vehicle struck Roseanne causing her to fall backwards to the ground on the ground.

"The front nearside wheel drove over her and the bus stopped with her dragged underneath."

The fire brigade attended and were able to raise the bus in order to free her.

Roseanne was taken to hospital where she was found to have suffered brain, pelvic and abdominal injuries as well as internal bleeding.

She sadly died in hospital the following night.

A post mortem carried out stated that the cause of death was "head and leg injuries due to road traffic collision."

Four seconds to avoid crash

An investigation was carried out by police which stated McInally would have seen Roseanne for four seconds prior to entering the scene.

Mr Adams told the hearing that McInally's contract was "terminated" by First Bus.

He said: "He continues to work as a driver for a different company."

Richard Freeman, defending, told the sentencing: "It is clear from the manner of driving can be described as a momentary lapse of attention.

"This arose, not because he allowed himself to be affected by matters external to driving, but because he was in the process of doing other safety checks.

"He failed to look at the single portion of pavement when preparing to turn into the depot.

"This was not someone with the benefit of seeing a pedestrian walking along the pavement.

"The view of her was restricted by fencing which had posters along its length and since this incident Buchanan Bus Station has removed these posters along that area."

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