A VAN driver who was hit by a train when he drove through an unmanned level crossing without stopping has been convicted of careless driving.
Imposing a €700 fine at Galway District Court, Judge Aeneus McCarthy told Martin Fitzpatrick (44), Oranmore, Co Galway, that he gambled with his own life and with the lives of everyone on the train, which had been travelling at 60 mph (95 km/h) at impact.
He said the gamble could have led to the derailment of the Dublin-to-Galway morning train and could have caused serious injury to passengers or even death. Fitzpatrick, a white goods service engineer, denied he had driven carelessly at Gurraun on January 18th, 2007, and he claimed the crossing's flashing red lights and sirens, which should signal the approach of a train, were not working that morning. His van was written off in the side-on collision but he escaped without serious injury.
Iarnród Éireann signal engineer Stuart Rendell said he tested the crossing's signalling system an hour after the crash and it was working perfectly.