Memorial service held for Glasgow lorry crash victims

Speaking at St Andrew’s Cathedral in Glasgow, Archbishop Philip Tartaglia said the woman and her family wept from the “abyss of their loss” after student Erin McQuade and her grandparents Jack and Lorraine Sweeney, from Dumbarton, died.

He told the congregation: “On the evening of the tragedy, I was privileged to be permitted to spend some time with one of the families who had been cruelly devastated by the incident.

‘Can you imagine the horror?’

“I was able to witness and share the grief and sadness of a mother and of a father for their daughter, and of two daughters for their mother and father. The distressed woman to whom I was speaking had seen her daughter and her own parents killed almost right in front of her. Can you imagine the horror?

“I tried to console them and comfort them. We spoke and we cried and we were silent before the abyss of their loss and the random meaninglessness of what had happened. They openly spoke of their faith, but their faith was sorely tried, and I commended them silently to God that the Lord would find the way to bring them comfort.”

Jacqueline McQuade, who was shopping at the time, witnessed the moment her 18-year-old daughter Erin and two parents were killed by an out of control refuse lorry in Glasgow city centre.

Jack Sweeney, 68, his wife Lorraine, 69, and Erin were among the six people killed after the lorry ran out of control.

Jacqueline McQuade had reportedly gone to withdraw money from a cash machine when her daughter and parents were hit.

Gillian Ewing, 52, from Edinburgh, Stephenie Tait, 29, from Glasgow and Jacqueline Morton, 51, from Glasgow, also died.

Jack Sweeney, 68, his wife Lorraine, 69, and their granddaughter Erin McQuade, 18

George Square has reopened to the public and metal cordons put in place after the crash have been removed.

Witnesses suggested the driver may have fallen ill at the wheel, and an investigation is under way into what caused the vehicle to crash.

The Christmas lights in George Square which were turned off after the crash will be switched back on as Glasgow residents try to return to normal life.

Gillian Ewing, 52, and Stephenie Tait, 29

Ten more people were injured when the bin lorry lost control outside the Gallery of Modern Art at about 2.30pm on Monday.

Flowers laid

The lorry struck a pedestrian before continuing up Queen Street and hitting several other people, coming to a halt when it crashed into the hotel.

The driver and five other people were still receiving treatment in hospital on Tuesday, with one patient in a critical condition.

Hundreds of floral tributes have been laid by members of the public in Royal Exchange Square near the crash site.

Miss McQuade was a first-year student of English literature at Glasgow University. She worked at Cameron House Hotel on Loch Lomond, where she was described as “one of our brightest and dedicated members of housekeeping staff”.

Mr Sweeney was a former president of Bramalea Celtic supporters club in Canada.

A statement posted on the club’s Facebook page said: “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.

“Our thoughts and prayers go to the family and friends of the Sweeney family.”

Ms Tait was a primary school teacher at St Philomena’s Primary in Glasgow. The head teacher Catherine Gallagher said the “entire school community is deeply saddened by this tragic news”.