THE death of a 17-year-old girl on a school bus trip could have been prevented if she had worn a seatbelt and the driver had gone slower, a Fatal Accident Inquiry found.

Natasha Paton, from Cleghorn, near Lanark, was killed after a coach carrying 39 pupils and five members of staff from Lanark Grammar School crashed during a snowstorm.

The bus, which was travelling to Alton Towers theme park, smashed through a bridge at Castledyke Bridge, Wiston, and went into a river on March 31, 2010.

Sheriff Nikola Stewart, who oversaw the inquiry into Natasha's death, has released her findings in the case.

She heard that coach driver Raymond Munro lost control of the vehicle.

After the coach collided with the parapet of the bridge, Natasha was thrown from the vehicle and drowned in the Garf Water.

Sheriff Stewart identified a number of "reasonable precautions" that may have prevented Natasha's death.

She said Natasha may have lived if the driver "had travelled at a lower speed on the approach to and turn on to Castledyke Bridge and refrained from applying the brakes whilst negotiating that turn".

The sheriff said Mr Munro could also have refrained "from attempting to negotiate the turn onto the bridge at a speed of 23mph or more".

She also said if he had "adopted a slower speed, or brought the coach to a halt in preparation to crawling around the corner, the effects of any sudden loss of control could have been ameliorated (alleviated) or mitigated".

The inquiry report stated a "reasonable precaution" would have been for "Natasha and those passengers seated in proximity to her" to have "worn the seatbelts provided throughout the journey".

All 49 passenger seats were fitted with lap seat belts and teachers had checked pupils were wearing them before the coach set off.

A second check was carried out once the journey was under way.

But Sheriff Stewart found that "despite these reasonable precautions not all passengers were wearing their seatbelts at the point of impact."

At least nine pupils, including Natasha, were not wearing a seat belt at the time of impact.

After the findings were revealed, a solicitor for Natasha's family issued a statement. It read: "The loss of Natasha has devastated her family.

"It is, however, some comfort to them that this inquiry has clearly established that Natasha's death was caused by Raymond Munro.

"The weather conditions were adverse but not impossible to navigate.

"Had Mr Munro driven with reasonable care, the accident would not have happened."

The sheriff also ruled the organisers of the trip should not be blamed, despite the trip proceeding in poor and deteriorating weather.

rebecca.gray@ eveningtimes.co.uk