Jim Clark Rally deaths: Calls for accident inquiry

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has announced a review of motorsports safety in Scotland following the latest accident. Picture: TSPL

Joy Robson, a nursery teacher from Skye, was killed when a car left the track during the Snowman Rally in Glenurquhart Forest at Balnain.

Her daughter Kerry Johnson is urging the Crown Office to hold a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) in her mother’s death, and the tragedy at the Jim Clark Rally in Little Swinton on 31 May, which claimed three lives.

In February last year, Mrs Robson, 50, from the Isle of Skye, was watching the first stage of the Highland Car Club Snowman Rally when she was hit by a car. An eight-year-old boy was also injured but survived.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has announced a review of motorsports safety in Scotland following the latest accident.

But Ms Johnson said that was insufficient, adding: “When I heard the news about what had happened at the Jim Clark Rally I was completely stunned.

“It’s just over a year since mum’s death and here we are with three more spectators being killed and several more injured. When is this going to stop?

“While I welcome moves by the Scottish government and the police to review safety at these events, it’s a fatal accident inquiry held in open court that will get to the bottom of what happened to my mum and these other victims.

“Having a FAI will also give me and my family the right to ask questions which this government review won’t.

“My family want to be involved, we want our voice to be heard and we want desperately to make sure nobody else loses their lives at a Scottish rally.”

Andrew Henderson, from Thompsons Solicitors who are representing Mrs Robson’s family, said the recent accident had upset the relatives.

He said: “In what other sport in Scotland could four spectators be killed within 18 months and nothing be done by the authorities?

“Kerry is right when she says that this has got to stop.”

A Crown Office spokesman said: “The Procurator Fiscal has received a report on the death of a 50-year-old woman in Glenurquhart Forest on 16 February 2013.

“The investigation into the death, under the direction of the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit, is ongoing and the family are being kept updated in relation to any significant developments.”