Motorway death brings warning from a mother

Mrs Josephine Cuthill urged parents to warn their children of the

dangers involved in ignoring walkways and trying to take shortcuts

across the M8 in Glasgow.

Her warning came after Sheriff Mark Sischy returned a formal verdict

following a fatal accident inquiry in Glasgow Sheriff Court into the

death of 13-year-old Debbie Cuthill on April 14.

Mrs Cuthill said that she didn't want other parents to experience the

trauma that her family had endured after Debbie was struck by a car as

she crossed the motorway with two friends near her home in Royston Road.

Mrs Cuthill said after the court hearing: ''Nothing we say will ever

bring Debbie back, but it should prompt other parents to warn their

children to stay away from motorways.

''They must tell their children not to go near them, or attempt to

cross them other than over official bridges and underpasses.

The inquiry had earlier heard that a claim suggesting that the three

girls had run across the motorway to escape a gang fight was false. One

of the teenagers said yesterday she had told the police that they were

being chased because she was scared that they would get the blame for

Debbie's death.

Another explained: ''We decided to cross the motorway. I don't know

why we decided that. Because it was the quickest way, I suppose.

''The three of us held hands. I saw a car in the distance in the fast

lane. One of the girls let go, and Debbie and I started to run across. I

was holding on to Debbie.

''I saw the car in the fast lane getting closer and Debbie suddenly

let go of my hand. The car just hit her. I heard a skidding and then a

banging noise. The motor hit the back of my jacket,'' she wept.

Mr Alexander Brown, 26, of Huntington Square, Sighthill, told the

inquiry that he had been travelling towards Glasgow when he saw the

girls.

He had been driving between 55mph and 60mph when one of the girls ran

across.