Hebrides  News

Contact newsdesk on:  info@hebridesnews.co.uk

I Cars  I   Stuff 4 Sale   I   Jobs   I                             

 Local Services     

Settlement in legal action over boys death                   14/2/14

The Free Church has paid out-of-court settlement following the tragic death of two teenagers attending a church camp.

The boys were being driven to a pick-point in Inverness for a trip to Lewis when the car they were travelling in crashed into a stationary lorry in July 2006.

Carlos Ruben Gonzales,15, and Gianmarco Stefano Peschiera, 14, died in the accident along with car driver Donald Macleod, of Inverness.

The students, were part of a party of 14 from the Colegio San Andres (St Andrew's School) which was then run by the denomination in Lima, the capital of Peru. They were attending Free Church youth camps in the Highlands.

The two boys stayed at Mr Macleod’s home the previous night and they were due to travel on the Stornoway ferry that day.

Mr Macleod suffered a heart attack at the wheel near the Longman roundabout.

One of the families raised a civil action in Peru on the grounds of negligence on the part of the Colegio, its former headmaster Donald Macaulay and the Free Church.

A Free Church of Scotland spokesman said: “We can confirm that the legal case in Peru has been resolved.

“This was a tragic accident for all concerned and in particular for the families in both Peru and Scotland who lost loved ones.

“We are pleased that this long running legal process is now at an end.”

The spokesman said a significant proportion of the costs were being met by the church’s insurer.