Driver sent to prison for five years for causing Motherwell schoolgirl’s death

Martin McGuire (39) was driving at 51mph in a 30mph zone when he hit 12-year-old Abbie McLaren as she crossed the road after getting off a bus on The Loaning in February.

Abbie’s father Adam McLaren, who is McGuire’s cousin, was a front seat passenger in the vehicle at the time of the crash.

McGuire previously admitted causing Abbie’s death by dangerous driving, as well as driving without a licence or insurance, when he appeared at the High Court in Glasgow in May.

Judge Lady Scott imposed the five-year jail term and an eight-and-a-half year driving ban when he appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh for sentencing.

She said: “Abbie McLaren was 12-years-old. She was a child with her whole life ahead of her.

“She was well-loved by her close family, especially her mum, brothers and sisters and her grandparents.

“All have been left devastated and will be forever bereft.”

North Lanarkshire Council is currently holding a safety review of The Loaning following Abbie’s death.

Nearly 14,000 people signed a petition and over 1000 took part in a torchlight procession calling for traffic calming on the street

The council and its consultancy partner AECOM has now committed to working with the local community to identify road safety measures which will help facilitate safe routes for pedestrian, cycle and vehicle movements on The Loaning and surrounding streets (within the area surrounded by the railway line, Hamilton Road and Strathclyde Park)

As part of this work, it is looking for feedback to identify existing problems and the potential solutions that residents would like to see.

If you missed the opportunity to visit the study team at the Pat Cullinan Community Centre on Monday you can still go to www.placestandard.scot/start/the-loaning to assist the project team in developing a greater understanding of the local area and www.placecheck.info/maps/theloaning to highlight existing problems and improvements that should be made.

The deadline for responses on both of these is Friday, July 19.

For more information email [email protected].