Glasgow bin lorry inquiry: Driver Harry Clarke recalls crash
- Published
Mr Clarke was driven from the court building by a police car after giving his evidence
The driver of a bin lorry which killed six people in Glasgow has told a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) that he blacked out "like a light switch".
Harry Clarke, 58, said he remembered seeing Christmas lights on 22 December.
The next thing he could recall was the bin lorry crashing into the Millennium Hotel, and a colleague shouting "wake up".
Mr Clarke refused to answer some questions as he may face a private prosecution from bereaved relatives.
The driver took to the witness box at Glasgow Sheriff Court after his lawyer unsuccessfully tried to have the inquiry halted until the issue of the private prosecution was resolved.
'Public interest'
Sheriff John Becket rejected the motion, saying it was in the "substantial public interest" for proceedings to continue.
Several family members of those who died in the tragedy walked out of court as Mr Clarke entered the witness box.
After being warned by Sheriff Becket that he did not have to answer incriminating questions, Mr Clarke acknowledged that he understood.
Over the next few hours, he exercised his legal right not to answer many of the questions put to him.
Several of these related to a previous blackout while he worked as a bus driver in 2010, and to his non-disclosure of dizziness and blackouts to Glasgow City Council and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
Mr Clarke refused to answer many of the questions put to him in the witness box
The inquiry has heard Mr Clarke was unconscious when the bin lorry crashed, killing six people
Questioned by Solicitor General Lesley Thomson, who is leading the FAI for the Crown, Mr Clarke did answer questions about the day of the crash.
He gave the court details of his shift and breaks and said that he felt "ok, brand new".
Asked about three bottles of unopened beer found in the lorry cab, Mr Clarke said that it was three days before Christmas and shops sometimes gave beer to refuse crews.
'Light switch'
In the moments before the crash, which began in Queen Street, Mr Clarke recalled: "I seen the Christmas lights, everything was ok and the next minute... It was like a light switch."
He told the FAI the next thing he could remember was the lorry crashing into the side of the Millennium Hotel in Queen Street.
Mr Clarke went on: "I thought I heard Matt's (colleague Matthew Telford) voice saying 'Harry wake up'. It sounded like it was a mile away."
He said he remembered a fireman and a nurse being there after the crash, and talking to paramedics after being helped from the cabin.
He added: "Next thing I knew I was away to hospital."
(Clockwise from top left) Jack Sweeney, Lorraine Sweeney, Erin McQuade, Jacqueline Morton, Stephenie Tait and Gillian Ewing were killed in the crash
Ms Thomson then asked: "What do you think had happened to you?"
Mr Clarke replied: "I don't know what had happened to me. I couldn't understand it. I asked Matt what happened and he couldn't talk to me."
The inquiry at Glasgow Sheriff Court has heard that Mr Clarke was unconscious at the wheel of the council bin lorry when it veered out of control on 22 December last year, killing six people and injuring 15 others.
It has also heard that Mr Clarke had a history of dizzy spells and fainting which he had not disclosed to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) or on job application forms and health assessments for Glasgow City Council.
'Tragic accident'
This included a blackout at the wheel of a stationary bus in April 2010, when Mr Clarke was employed as a driver by First Bus.
The Crown Office in Scotland has already decided that Mr Clarke should not be prosecuted over the bin lorry crash as it had been a "tragic accident".
Two families have indicated, however, that they intend to pursue a private prosecution against Mr Clarke for dangerous driving based on the assertion that he knew he was unfit to be behind the wheel of a lorry.
The inquiry continues.
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Analysis by Reevel Alderson, BBC Scotland home affairs correspondent
Normally in Scotland prosecutions are brought by the Lord Advocate, who heads the Crown Office, although some public bodies such as local authorities can bring private prosecutions under statutory law. As an example, this could be against a parent failing to send their child to school.
Non-statutory private prosecutions are extremely unusual, with only two in the 20th Century.
At the Glasgow bin lorry FAI, the Solicitor General Lesley Thomson QC, Scotland's second most senior law officer, described a private prosecution as "a rare and exceptional beast".
To proceed, an individual must request the concurrence (agreement) of the Lord Advocate for a "Bill of Criminal Letters". This procedure at the High Court is effectively an application to the Lord Advocate to support the move - and in most cases he will already have made a decision not to prosecute.