Twenty one passengers have been seriously injured and two are in a critical condition after the train on which they were travelling collided with a sewage tanker at a railway crossing.
The accident happened at approximately 5.30pm on Tuesday, 17th August 2010, near the small village of Little Cornard, Sudbury in Suffolk when the two-carriage train hit a large sewage tanker lorry which was stationary on a ‘user-worked’ railway crossing. A total of 21 people suffered injuries in the accident and two of these have been taken to Colchester General Hospital with serious injuries, one of which, a 58 year old man is in intensive care and it is not yet clear whether he will survive his injuries. The other 19 injured passengers suffered less serious injuries in the form of cuts, bruises, back and neck pain and broken ribs.
It is understood that the sewage tanker split open upon impact causing sewage to spill over a wide area and the train was then de-railed however, it did not tip over. Witnesses described how they heard a loud bang when the collision occurred and then saw a number of distressed passengers wandering around the area in a daze covered in blood. One witness, a 65 year old man said “There was a very, very loud bang. I’ve never heard anything like it. I thought it was an aeroplane crash or a bomb going off.”
Police have stated that although the incident is clearly a major one, the fact that the train didn’t tip over meant that the injuries sustained by most passengers were not as bad as they could have been. Superintendent Phil Trendall of the British Transport Police made the following statement: “Clearly if the train had turned over the injuries could have been greater. We are just grateful the injuries were no greater in seriousness or in number.”
One passenger who luckily escaped with only minor injuries described the accident as follows: “I felt a sudden collision as the train didn’t slow down. I shot forward and hit the table and I banged my chest. When I got up, I saw the cab of the tanker on one side of the track.”
Investigations into the accident are ongoing however it is understood that the accident occurred because of the negligence of the sewage tanker driver who used the crossing without the appropriate authorisation. A Network Rail spokesperson said that anyone wanting to go across the level crossing needed to call the signaler to raise the gates however she said that “the Network Rail signaler did not receive a phone call from the user of the crossing.”
The 38 year old driver of the sewage tanker, who has not yet been named, has been arrested on suspicion of railway safety offences.
If you have sustained injuries in an accident that wasn’t your fault you should seek urgent legal advice from a firm of specialist solicitors, such as ourselves, who can give you comprehensive legal advice on whether you can make a claim and, if so, take your case on a genuine no win no fee basis. We pride ourselves on our high levels of service and will fight to ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve.
