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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
National
Claire Galloway & Keiran Fleming

Lorry driver death during raging storm on M74 to be probed at inquiry

A Fatal Accident Inquiry will be held into the death of a lorry driver on the M74 during a storm.

Bogdan Popa was killed when his northbound HGV careered onto the other side of the motorway at Lanarkshire and crashed into a car.

The 32-year-old father of one passed away at the scene as Storm Malik. battered the country on January 29 this year.

READ MORE: Glasgow roads in lockdown as fire fighters battle city blaze for 24 hours

A preliminary hearing into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy will will be held at Lanark Sheriff Court next month, with the full inquiry to be held at a later date.

The young dad's death devastated his family, especially his wife and young son.

Speaking to the Daily Record after the crash, his niece Monica Tudorie, 19, said: "His wife is really devastated and we're all in shock, we don't believe it's real.

"Everyone is still waiting for him to come back. But the most difficult part is his son, he keeps waiting for his dad.

"My auntie is in a really difficult state.

"We never expected this, he's a professional lorry driver who travelled around all Europe.

"He was a really good driver, he never had any problems.

"Even when this happened, and police explained everything, they said it wasn't at all his fault.

"He had his seatbelt on and he wasn't on his mobile or anything like that, he never would, it was nature - but it was because of the wind."

Monica says her uncle was passionate about his family and had a special bond with his son.

She added: "For us, he was the best person. He was the best carer and loved spending time with his son. They are both so clever and so into their gaming.

"Before finding out what happened to his dad, my little cousin explained to me he was having trouble accessing his dad's GPS on his lorry and was worried.

"When he saw the news, I think he was scared that it was his dad.

"And then police officers came to the house and told us."

The preliminary hearing is set for November 24 at 9.50am.

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