WATCH ABOVE: Grandparents, who once called Ontario home, were shopping with their granddaughter in Glasgow when a rogue garbage truck crashed into shoppers, killing the trio and three others. Jennifer Tryon has the story.
TORONTO – A couple with ties to Ontario, and their teenaged granddaughter were among the six people killed by an out-of-control garbage truck in Glasgow, Scotland Monday.
The crash, which also injured 10, happened in Glasgow City Centre around 2:30 p.m. when a truck mounted a curb and crashed into a group of pedestrians waiting to cross a road. The garbage truck came to a stop after crashing into the side of the Millennium Hotel in George Square.
Jack Sweeney, 68, his wife Lorraine, 69, and their 18-year-old granddaughter Erin McQuade were among the pedestrians that were struck.
Jack Sweeney, who lived in Ontario for about eight years, is a former president of a soccer supporter club in Brampton, Ont., northwest of Toronto.
“It is with great shock and sadness we share with you our friend and past president Jack Sweeney, his wife Lorraine and granddaughter Erin were victims of today’s tragedy in Glasgow,” read a statement posted on the Bramalea Celtic Club supporters Facebook page. ” Our thoughts and prayers go to the Family and friends of the Sweeney family.”
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In a statement, the Celtic Football Club described Jack Sweeney “as as someone who gave so much to the Club.”
“I am sure I speak for everyone connected to the Club when I say that our sincere thoughts and prayers are with them all, with their relatives and with every other victim of this tragic incident,” Celtic Chief Executive Peter Lawwell said.
Flags are flying at half-mast at Celtic Park and the club will hold a minute of silence before Saturday’s game in memory of those who died Monday.
John Sweeney, Jack’s second cousin and the lone family member living in the Toronto area, said the family is “in a total state of shock right now.”
Tom Donnelly, a friend of Jack’s and a past president of the Bramalea Celtic Club, said Jack was a giving person.
“He was a small guy…but he had a heart the size of this room,” Donnelly said. “Especially when it came to giving to under-privileged people. I think that was his background so he knew what it was like to help.”
The Sweeney’s granddaughter worked at an upscale resort just outside of Dumbarton and is being remembered as a “bright” young woman.
“Cameron House Hotel and Resort are saddened to hear we have lost one of our brightest and dedicated members of housekeeping staff,” Allan Reich, Resorts General Manager, said in a statement. ” We want to offer our deepest condolences and sympathies to the family of Erin and to all those who have been affected by the tragic events at George Square yesterday.”
According to police, the garbage truck struck a group of people outside the Gallery of Modern Art, then continued towards George Square.
The cause of the crash is not yet known.
“This is a tragic incident which has taken place at a very busy time in the centre of our city,” Wayne Mawson, Assistant Chief Constable, said in a statement.
He said the incident was “a road traffic accident, nothing more sinister.”
“For now it does not look to be a criminal or deliberate act that has taken place here this afternoon, but we need to have time to investigate it,” he said, adding that the truck driver is being treated in a nearby hospital.
On Tuesday police identified Gillian Ewing, 52, from Edinburgh, Stephenie Tait, 29, from Glasgow and Jacqueline Morton, 51, from Glasgow as the other victims in the incident.
“This is a tragic incident which occurred in the heart of Glasgow city centre at a time when people were preparing for the festive season. My thoughts are with the family and friends of those involved,” Chief Superintendent Andy Bates said. ” “My officers will continue to work with partner agencies to investigate the cause of the incident.”
-with a file from Global News reporter Mark McAllister and The Associated Press
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