Cyclist told parents about junction where HGV crash took her life

Emma Burke Newman was studying architecture at Glasgow School of Art when she was killed in January 2023

As John Newman studied a map of his daughter's daily cycle route in Glasgow, he told her it "looks like a highway".

He was speaking on the phone from his home in Paris, a city where Emma Burke Newman was comfortable on her bike.

But the 22-year-old architecture student, who dreamed of designing liveable neighbourhoods, sought to reassure him.

She said: "There's just one tricky bit."

French-American student Emma with her father John and mother Rose Marie

On the morning of 27 January 2023, Emma was dragged under an HGV on the Broomielaw, which runs parallel to the River Clyde, and dragged 53m (174ft).

When the driver, Paul Mowat, realised what had happened he got out of his cab and held her hand.

He apologised as they waited for an ambulance to arrive but the French-American student later died from her injuries in the city's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

Since the tragedy Mr Newman and his wife, Rose Marie Burke, have been campaigning for improved road safety.

Ms Burke told BBC Scotland News: "I think she was aware, in general, of the dangers and she did everything possible to make herself visible and to respect the law.

"Unfortunately, drivers in her case did not."

Mr Newman said the couple had seen footage of the incident which showed both the HGV and a bus had encroached into the marked bike box.

He added: "It should have been a safe space for her."

Paul Mowat's lawyer told the court he recognised the "devastation and grief" that would be endured by Emma's family and friends

As the couple returned to Glasgow to mark the second anniversary, they also called for tougher sentences for drivers who kill or maim.

Mowat, of Govanhill, was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and banned from driving for 12 months at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

An earlier hearing was told that Mowat's windscreen and mirrors were dirty and his view was obstructed by a reversing camera.

As the lorry turned into the Broomielaw, its bumper caught the pannier rack of Emma's bike, causing her to fall.

Mr Newman said: "What I find amazing with the sentencing guidelines is that there is so much emphasis put on allowing the drivers back on the road.

"Every time there is a collision and a sentence it seems like the suspension of their licence is remarkably short.

"There seems to be some idea that there is a right to drive and I am not so sure that is true.

"If you do something dangerous and if you hurt somebody or kill somebody then that privilege should be revoked for a longer period of time."

Emma's father John told her that her cycling route in Glasgow "looks like a highway"

Emma was born in France to American parents who moved there in 1994.

She arrived in Scotland in September 2022 to study architecture at Glasgow School of Art.

Mr Newman recalled: "She was funny. She was loving. She was warm."

Ms Burke added: "She was exceptional.

"She was known for a big hug and that's one of the things that I remember."

Following her death, Emma's parents called for cyclists to be given greater protection.

They also backed Pedal on Parliament - an annual ride to Holyrood campaigning for safer roads.

On Monday the couple returned to the scene to lay flowers at 10:10, the time Emma was critically injured.

As they did, a cyclist stopped to speak to them and expressed his condolences.

Ms Newman said: "It was so heart-warming that people remember and are so kind.

"We have been met with such kindness here in Scotland."

The incident happened on Glasgow's Broomielaw on 27 January 2023

Glasgow City Council is now consulting on plans to improve the junction on the Broomielaw where the crash happened and make it safer for cyclists.

As part of that process the couple have spoken to local authority officials.

Ms Burke said the council had been "very responsive" in meetings and in listening to their concerns.

She said: "I am really heartened by those plans.

"It looks like it is going to be a much safer junction for everyone - drivers, cyclists and pedestrians alike."

But two years on from the devastating day they lost Emma, Mr Newman revealed a cruel irony about her death has stayed with him.

He said: "She was working on liveable neighbourhoods and to have her killed by the same systems she was trying to improve is really tough to think about."