Driver ‘lost concentration’ before level crossing crash
ACABBIE crashed into the side of a train at a level crossing after apparently losing concentration at the wheel, a court has heard.
A young passenger aboard the train saw Brain Mazey drive into the carriage directly below the window he was sitting at.
Police said the driver had shown “a complete disregard for his own safety, and that of others”.
Swansea Crown Court heard Mazey could not explain why he had not seen the Arriva Train Wales service using the crossing ahead of him.
Tom Scapens, prosecuting, said the collision happened on the evening of April 13 last year.
The 8.37pm Whitland to Pembroke Dock service – with 17 passengers aboard – was running some 10 minutes late due to technical problems when it approached the level crossing at Beavers Hill near Manorbier, Pembrokeshire.
The prosecutor said that the driver of the service stopped the train before the unmanned crossing as was laid down in the safety procedures, and checked the road which crossed his path.
The court heard the driver saw car headlights in the distance down the single-track road, then sounded the train horn, and proceeded across the crossing.
Mr Scapens said the train had almost cleared the crossing, which is of the type that does not have barriers, when the driver felt a “jolt”.
The driver found Mazey had hit the wheel bogie at the rear of the second carriage of the train.
The court heard the train was stationary for around an hour while police carried out a preliminary investigation, and a number of passengers began to feel “panicky” about being on a train that was stuck across the road in the dark – they were given first aid by officers before a bus arrived to pick them up, and take them on to their destination. Two subsequent services were cancelled.
The prosecutor said both drivers involved in the incident were breathtested, and both returned negative results.
The train was later taken for safety checks, and was found to be undamaged save for some scratches.
Mazey, aged 45, of Cwm Gwennol, Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire, was initially charged with dangerous driving – a charge he denied – before pleading guilty to careless driving when he appeared at the Crown Court, a charge that was acceptable to the prosecution.
Lee Davies, for Mazey, said his client was at a loss to explain why he had not seen the train on the crossing ahead of him, and “he can only put it down to a lack of concentration”.
He added that Mazey had been driving for 28 years, with no endorsements.
Judge Peter Heywood told Mazey there had clearly been a lack on attention on his part as he approached the crossing, and it appeared he had “misjudged” both his speed and the speed of the train.
Mazey was given six penalty points on his licence, and was fined £500. He must also pay £250 towards prosecution costs.