Parents demand answers three years on from son’s fatal plunge in Glasgow

The parents of a young man who died in a fall after apparently taking what he thought was a short cut fear the path was a deathtrap.

Mark Lafreniere suffered fatal injuries after plunging almost 40ft near a motorway sliproad.

Within a few yards, the path, only blocked by a low fence next to an M8 slipway in Glasgow, led to the drop.

Now his parents, Mark and Alison, have spoken of the helplessness they felt after their son lost his six-day fight for life – and the ongoing mystery over exactly what happened.

They have also revealed how they are preparing to sue landowners BT claiming that, three years after the 27-year-old’s death, the company still has no answers.

Father-of-six Mark said: “Any parent who has ever had to sit by their dying child’s bed will know the anguish we feel. The neverending pain of not knowing why this happened to our boy means we cannot rest until we know the truth and make sure it never happens to anyone else.”

He also revealed that, on the morning following the tragedy, the family had twice passed the spot where Mark Junior had fallen, and where he languished for seven hours before being found.

He said: “We had arranged to go to the Time Capsule in Coatbridge that Sunday morning on a family outing, and passed by twice without realising that all the commotion was because Mark had fallen and lain for hours with dreadful injuries.

“I still cannot bear to think about our wonderful boy lying there in the dark, injured, in pain and afraid for hours before he was found and taken to hospital.

“He was supposed to be with us at the swimming, but when he didn’t turn up as planned, we went on without him, never realising he was fighting for his life.”

It was only when Mark, a window cleaner, failed to turn up for dinner that his mum knew something was wrong and she immediately called his mobile.

Where it happened

Alison, 46, said: “It wasn’t like him not to turn up for something to eat. The moment I heard the stranger’s voice answering his phone, I realised something terrible had happened.

“The policeman who answered had been unable to access Mark’s phone and had been desperately trying to find us to let us know he had been dreadfully injured.”

Mark’s parents cannot even remember their frantic dash to Glasgow Royal Infirmary, where they were met by concerned surgeons who held out little hope.

Mark said: “Despite their initial concern, they were amazed that Mark continued to fight despite both his lungs being punctured, extensive bruising to his heart, kidneys and internally.

“He had a huge gash on his hip and his liver had split with the force of the fall. Mark was a strong, strapping boy and he fought with all he had to stay with us. Just when we began to think he might make it after all, he suddenly started to go downhill.

“We’d sat by his bedside for six long days and nights, willing him to keep fighting. But the last six hours just finished us. Our only comfort is that he knew we were all there for him, and he was surrounded by love.”

After Mark passed away from multiple organ failure, his family visited the scene of the tragedy, next to the Eagle Building in Bothwell Street.

Mark fell from an area owned by BT into a car park used by Santander.

Since his death, a high fence has been erected blocking the path. But Mark’s dad recalled: “We were astonished to see that it looked like a path or a short cut to nowhere, but at the end there was a treacherous drop and what I believe was inadequate fencing.

“In the dark where Mark fell, it would have looked like a pathway to a short cut. But more than three years on, there are no signs to warn the unwary.

“A site guard at the time of Mark’s fall told me there had been an ongoing problem with people using the path. Anybody could have easily accessed it and ended up like Mark.”

Mark was last seen just after 9pm on Saturday, March 26, 2016 when he had gone to meet colleagues at a window cleaning firm he had been due to join.

His dad, also a window cleaner, said: “He was meeting his new colleagues for a quick drink. All we know is that he ended up where he fell around 9.30pm.

“He was not found until 3.30am the following morning in the car park where he had landed after a nearly 40ft drop.

“Mark wasn’t a silly laddie. He was used to heights as a window cleaner. But we are determined to get the truth.”

The family’s lawyer, Joel Shaw of Thompsons Solicitors, said: “This is an utterly tragic event which has been devastating for the family. It has been caused by abject failures of those responsible for the area of land by the M8 flyover.

“Having a sudden drop by a public footpath without appropriate warnings or adequate fencing would present a real risk of death.

“The fact that prior warnings had been made and were not acted upon, makes this tragedy even more damning on those responsible.”

BT said: “As this tragic incident is subject to ongoing legal proceedings, we can’t comment. We do, however, extend our sincerest sympathy to the family and friends of Mark Lafreniere following their loss.”