Glasgow bin lorry driver thinks of the six victims 'every minute of every day'

Harry Clarke collapsed unconscious at the wheel of the lorry before crashing into a crowd of pedestrians in Glasgow, killing six

Candles and flowers are left near the Gallery of Modern Art after the bin lorry crash (PA)

The driver of a bin lorry that killed six Christmas shoppers in Glasgow has said that he thinks of the victims "every minute of every day".

Harry Clarke collapsed unconscious at the wheel before his vehicle ploughed into a crowd of pedestrians on December 22 last year.

Speaking for the first time since the crash, he said he remembers nothing of the incident, but felt pressed to speak so that families of the victims did not think he was hiding.

In an interview with Scottish newspaper the Daily Record, the 58-year-old said: “Nothing will ever be normal for the families or me ever again. I think of everyone every minute of every day.

“I grieve for everyone involved in the accident. Every day is a struggle.”

He spent two weeks in hospital after the crash which killed six people, including an elderly couple and their 18-year-old granddaughter.

“I understand a lot of people want to know what happened that day. I wish I could tell you but I can’t,” he added.

“I just want all of the families of the injured and deceased to know I can’t remember anything.

Stephenie Tait and Gillian Ewing were among the six people killed when the bin lorry lost control (PA)

“I wish I could but I was unconscious. I have racked my brain to try to remember but I can’t. I will never know what happened other than people telling me what they saw.”

Police Scotland last week submitted its initial report into the crash to the Crown Office, which is set to decide whether to take any criminal proceedings or open a fatal accident inquiry by the end of the month.

Mr Clarke was diagnosed with a heart condition after the crash, but had no prior warning or diagnosis before the incident.

He said he had worried his silence had added to the grief of their relatives, but had previously felt unable to speak out due to his health.

The scene in Glasgow's George Square after it is understood a bin lorry crashed into a group of pedestrians which has left six people dead. (Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

(EPA)

Handout photo taken with permission from the Twitter feed of @BMol14loy of the scene in Glasgow's George Square after a it is understood a bin lorry has crashed into a group of pedestrians. (PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo)

He said: "I've felt awful not speaking out. I am not saying that to get sympathy. I don't want that but I don't want the families to think I have been hiding'.

Erin McQuade, 18, and grandparents Lorraine Sweeney, 69, and Jack Sweeney, 68, all from Dumbarton, were killed when the lorry careered into a busy crowd of Christmas shoppers in Queen Street, Glasgow at around 2.30pm.

Gillian Ewing, 52, from Edinburgh, primary school teacher Stephenie Tait, 29, and tax worker Jacqueline Morton, 51, both from Glasgow were also killed while at least 10 others were injured.

The truck eventually came to a halt when it hit the Milliennium Hotel, near Queen Street train station.

Thousands have attended funerals for the victims over the past month.

Glaswegians took to social media after the interview was published to praise Mr Clarke for his courage in speaking out, and remind him that the accident was not his fault.

Arlene Gibson wrote on Facebook: “God bless the man. To have a heart attack then to wake up to that, hope he knows Glasgow is behind him. A terrible accident.”

The driver’s identity had previously been protected ‘indefinitely’ by Glasgow Council, along with two other workers in the cab when it crashed.

He was first named in a report by The Herald newspaper two weeks ago. He thanked the media for “not hounding” him or his daughter in the weeks following the crash.