Fatal Accident Inquiry to be held into M9 crash deaths
- Published
Lamara Bell and John Yuill were found inside their car after it crashed down an embankment off the M9
A Fatal Accident Inquiry is to be held into the deaths of a young mother and her partner, who were left undiscovered for three days in 2015 after their car crashed off the M9 near Stirling.
John Yuill, 28, died at the scene while Lamara Bell, 25, died four days later in hospital.
It had taken police three days to respond to a call from a farmer who had spotted the car.
Ms Bell's family will receive more than £1m in damages from Police Scotland.
The civil settlement comes after the force was fined £100,000 in September after it pleaded guilty to health and safety failings which "materially contributed" to Ms Bell's death.
Police near to the scene of the 2015 crash
Police Scotland admitted that between 1 April 2013 and 1 March 2016 it:
Failed to provide a reliable call-handling system.
Failed to ensure it was not vulnerable to unacceptable risks caused by human error.
Failed to ensure that all relevant information reported by the public was recorded on an IT system.
The High Court in Edinburgh was told that Ms Bell pleaded for help after being found and would probably have survived had she been discovered sooner.
The force previously issued an "unreserved" apology for its failings.
Justin Farrell, deputy procurator fiscal, specialist casework, said the prosecution was an important step which had to be taken before a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) could be fully considered.
"The public interest will now be further served in a FAI to examine the full circumstances surrounding these tragic deaths and to help avoid such an incident happening again in the future," he said.
The Crown Office said both families had been informed about the FAI. The inquiry process is expected to begin next year.