Teenager who pushed woman into path of train detained in psychiatric hospital

A teenager who pushed a woman into the path of a train has been detained in a psychiatric hospital.

Andrew Wason, 19, pushed 20-year-old Sophie Scott in front of a moving train at Hyndland Station in Glasgow on April 20 last year.

Wason had wandered down to the station after absconding from nearby Gartnavel Hospital where he was being treated for mental health problems then began pacing up and down the platform.

CCTV footage shown in court captured the moment he pushed Ms Scott with two hands onto the tracks in front of an approaching train and her scrambling to safety to avoid being hit.

During a hearing earlier this year, advocate depute Chris McKenna said that at the moment Ms Scott fell on the tracks, she believed she was “going to die”.

He said she was waiting at the station that evening to catch the late-running 6.25pm train to Glasgow when Wason walked up and stood behind her.

Mr McKenna said Wason then waited until the “precise moment” the train was about to pass the pair before he pushed her off the platform.

“He forcefully pushed (Ms Scott) with two hands to the back between her shoulders into the path of the oncoming train,” he said.

Ms Scott was able to haul herself out of the way of the train just in time to avoid being struck and the driver put the train into emergency mode to stop it.

A member of the public then chased Wason back to Gartnavel Hospital and phoned the police.

On April 29, at the High Court in Glasgow, Wason, of Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, admitted a single charge of attempted murder.

At the same court on Monday, a judge imposed compulsion and restriction orders on Wason, requiring him to be detained in hospital indefinitely.

A compulsion order is used when someone commits an offence punishable by imprisonment but is found to have a mental disorder.

Handing down his ruling, judge Lord Matthews said the effect of Wason’s actions on both Ms Scott and the train driver had been “horrible.”

He said he could not imagine the consequences if Ms Scott had not been able to get out of the way of the train in time.

“Thankfully she managed to roll out of the way of the train,” he said.

“I hope, in time, she is able to recover and start to lead a normal life.”

Lord Matthews said he had “carefully considered all the psychiatric reports”, which he said showed Wason was “significantly unwell at the time and now”.

After imposing the orders, he told Wason to “make sure” he engages fully with the treatment being provided to him.

“You are a young man with your life before you and must not think you are just being locked up and the key being thrown away,” he told him.

Wason, who appeared in court dressed in a green and black tracksuit top and dark trousers, showed no emotion as the orders were handed down.

Earlier, the court heard evidence from psychiatrist Dr Geraldine Scullin.

She said Wason has been at the State Hospital in South Lanarkshire for “about a year and a half”, where he is under 24/7 nursing care as well as being treated with a number of different drugs.

“Unfortunately, he still presents with quite significant psychotic symptoms, which would led me to conclude that his condition is treatment-resistant,” she told the court.

Wason’s lawyer, Allan MacLeod, asked her whether it is hoped that “eventually Mr Wason could be reintegrated back into society with the support of the medical profession?”

She said yes, but that it is “very difficult to put an exact time frame” on how long that would take.

Mr MacLeod also recounted the findings of another psychiatric evaluation regarding Wason’s mental state at the time of the incident.

The report, he said, found “there appeared to be a link between Wason’s mental state and the alleged incident, and at the time of the offence he appeared unable to resist violent thoughts and exert self-control over his actions.”

The evaluation also found, he said, that Wason had known what he was doing was wrong but that “he was compelled to do it because of his mental illness.”