New inquiry starts into death of Kia showroom manager

A new inquiry is under way into the circumstances around the death of Park's Kia showroom manager David McClenaghan.

McClenaghan called 999 as he suffered a heart attack while in his office at the car dealership in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire in 2018, but although an ambulance arrived the paramedics left when they couldn't see him.

He was later discovered by a security guard. He was aged 57.

Reports found that paramedics did not get out of the ambulance when they arrived at the Kia dealership.

The Scottish Ambulance Service conducted its own review "following this tragic incident, with all actions identified being implemented".

But now Scotland's Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has said the circumstances surrounding Mr McClenaghan’s death gave rise to “serious public concern” to justify a discretionary fatal accident inquiry (FAI).

The FAI will determine the cause of death; the circumstances in which it occurred; and to establish what, if any, reasonable precautions could have been taken, and could be implemented in the future, to minimise the risk of future deaths in similar circumstances.

COPFS anticipates that the focus of the FAI will be on the “circumstances surrounding the actions and response of the Scottish Ambulance Service to the emergency”.

Procurator Fiscal Andy Shanks, who leads on fatalities investigations for COPFS, said: “The Lord Advocate considers that the death of David McClenaghan occurred in circumstances giving rise to serious public concern and as such a discretionary fatal accident inquiry should be held.

“An FAI will allow a full public airing of the evidence of the procurator fiscal’s wider investigations with interested parties.

“The evidence will be tested in a public setting and be the subject of an independent judicial determination.”

In recent years there has been a growing trend of franchised dealers installing computerised defibrillators, including the likes of AM100 groups Hendy, Vertu Motors, TrustFord, Pendragon, Swansway, Waylands Automotive and eStar Truck and Van. The devices enable anyone to help a victim of a cardiac arrest, because they give clear instructions to users.

In 2019, Waylands' chief executive John O'Hanlon took the decision to invest in defibrillators for his staff and local communities to use after a customer collapsed with a heart attack at Waylands Volvo Oxford.

The customer survived and wrote an amotional letter of thanks to the dealership's team, stating: “I must have given you all quite a scare for which I am sorry, but one thing is for sure – your first aid training was very good….Without doubt you saved my life.”