A dad has told how "everything was fantastic" but "all that changed in the Everglades" where he lost his wife and three children in a horror crash on holiday in Florida.
Alan Atkinson, from Helensburgh, had taken his wife Adrienne, 35, 11-year-old son Nigel and nine-year-old twin daughters Lucy and Anna, on a celebratory trip to the US in 1981 after getting a new job.
The family were travelling through the Everglades to the airport for their return flight home when their car was struck by another driver who had a drink in his hand and wasn't using his headlights.
He reversed at speed into the rental car Alan was driving and wiped out his entire family in an instant, reported the Daily Record.
Retired RAF pilot Alan, now 80, has written a book 'The Innocent and the Beautiful' telling of the horror of what happened as he tries to deal with the trauma.
"My family had everything to look forward to but it was taken away in a heartbeat," he said.
"All I ever aspired to be was a father. I married my beautiful wife in 1966 and we had three lovely children. Everything was fantastic. All that changed in the Everglades."
The impact of the crash sent the family's vehicle careering into the deep waters of a nearby wetland canal.
Alan was the only one who made it out alive.
He continued: "We were all concussed by the impact of the crash and the car was sitting on top of the water. I remember my wife saying that the water was starting to come in and the next thing I knew the car was sitting at the bottom of 25ft of water.
"My door was open and survival instinct kicked in. I managed to get myself to the top. People came and tried to save my family but the car was too far down. Three days after the crash, I returned home alone."
Alan eventually returned to his career and began piloting the famous Concorde, but the grieving husband and father struggled to find peace in the aftermath of his trauma. He was met with a wall of silence from the Miami justice system and no criminal case was ever taken up against the other driver by courts in the US.
"What happened left its mark on me," Alan added.
"I needed closure, but it never came. I returned to the states several times seeking a prosecution. The State Attorney promised me there would be a criminal case, but there has never been any prosecution.
"It became a long battle for justice for my beautiful family and I even embarked on a civil case, but nothing came of it. It felt very inhuman."
Alan later moved to West Sussex and began working on a book about his ordeal five years after his new partner Liz came across old files of the case at their home.
He decided to write his story in a bid to process his pain and keep the memory of his beautiful family alive.
He added: "I felt I had to get my story out. It's been hard going, but anyone that's been involved in an accident will relate to the pain I went through and the effect it's had on me.
"I was engaged twice after losing my wife and I was about to get re-married once, but I just couldn't do it.
"Then Liz came along five or six years ago and she's been very gentle with me. She was the one that found the documents and encouraged me to share my story.
"I wanted to keep my family's memory alive. I know many people have happy memories of Adrienne and the kids in Helensburgh.
"There is a wonderful memorial for them there and they keep my family in their hearts."
