A woman who lay injured in a crashed car for three days after it was reported to police will be in hospital for months, her mother has said.
Lamara Bell, 25, was seriously injured and her boyfriend John Yuill, 28, died in the crash which was reported to police on Sunday but not followed up for three days.
It has emerged that the car was found by a farmer who raised the alarm after spotting it in his field on Wednesday.
Ms Bell was taken to Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital where her condition is described as “very serious”. She is reportedly in a medically induced coma.
Her mother Diane Bell, from Falkirk, said she doesn’t know what the long term impact of the ordeal will be on her daughter, who has two children.
She told the Scottish Sun: “She will be in hospital for a good few months. We don’t know what she is going to be like.
“She’s happy-go-lucky and has a great personality.”For more on this story, see Friday’s CourierYesterday she spoke of her anger at the situation and said her daughter could have died.
The couple were reported missing after visiting Loch Earn, Stirlingshire, in a blue Renault Clio on Sunday.
Police Scotland said the car was found when officers were called to the M9 near Stirling yesterday following a report that a Renault Clio was off the road.
The force admitted they had received a report on Sunday morning about a car which was off the road, but it had not been followed up at the time.
The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) has begun an independent investigation into the circumstances of the incident.
Her father Andrew Bell pleaded with his daughter on Facebook to “wake up”.
Last night he wrote: “Tonight sitting beside Lamara I started sing her favourite song from her childhood, Marti Pellow. I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes, love is all around me and so the feeling grows.
“I can’t for the life of me finish it, I just want her to move her hand as I hold hers.
“Tonight I would give my life to hear her sing it once more.
“She is off the ventilator, so one piece of victory to her.”
Mr Bell also told reporters he unknowingly drove past the scene of the crash on Sunday.
Mr Yuill’s father Gordon said yesterday: “The family just want to be left in peace now to grieve.
“Our thoughts are also with Lamara’s family at this time.”
There have been calls from across the political spectrum for a thorough investigation into the incident.
Police Scotland have said they are investigating why the report of the crash was not followed up on Sunday, while the matter has been referred to Pirc by the Crown Office.
A Pirc spokesman said: “The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner has begun an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of a 28-year-old man and serious injury of a 25-year-old woman following the recovery of a car close to the M9 motorway at Bannockburn on July 8 2015.
“The investigation will focus on why a telephone call made to Police Scotland on Sunday July 5, which reported their car was off the road, was not followed up.
“The Commissioner’s investigation will also examine the robustness of Police Scotland’s missing person inquiry and look at why that inquiry was not linked with the information received in the call.
“Our team of investigators have now commenced inquiries to look into all these matters and establish what happened.”