Moment I saw crash coming, by Selby train driver

THE DRAMATIC moment when tragedy struck in the Selby train crash was outlined in a hushed courtroom today.

Relatives of the 10 victims listened intently as train driver Andrew Hill said in a statement: "The last thing I remember was being thrown about. I don't remember much of a noise. I remember coming round. I was choking.

Everything was in blackness."

Earlier he outlined the moments when a routine journey turned into a disaster. "I saw a yellowy flash of light on the tracks in the distance. I then saw a train coming towards us at some speed. I kept thinking it would pass us. It was upright.

"After a short space of time I saw a coach of the high-speed train jackknife onto our side of the tracks. I was standing up holding onto the control panel. We were on a collision course.

"The next thing I saw was the blue livery of the GNER. It seemed to fill our view and we were within touching distance."

Mr Hill had left Immingham in Lincolnshire at around 4.30am on 28 February taking coal to Ferrybridge power station.

Co-driver Stephen Dunn was driving the train and had accelerated up to 60mph on the East Coast Main Line approaching Great Heck, near Selby, when the signals turned red.

"At that moment I was looking straight ahead," said Mr Hill.

Land Rover driver Gary Hart, 37, is accused of 10 counts of causing death by dangerous driving. He is accused of falling asleep at the wheel and veering off the M62 onto the East Coast Main Line into the path of a GNER express, causing the crash.

Just after 6.10am Hart's vehicle and trailer careered down an embankment through bushes and fencing, next to Great Heck, North Yorkshire, Leeds Crown Court was told.

The self-employed builder, from Strubby, Lincolnshire, had been heading for work in Wigan, towing a trailer carrying a Renault Savanna.

The Land Rover Defender stopped with its front propped up on the railway tracks. Hart suffered minor injuries.

He dialled 999 on his mobile and was talking to the North Yorkshire police operator when the Great North Eastern Railway 4.45am express from Newcastle to King's Cross hit his car at 117mph.

The express derailed to the right but stayed upright, continuing for 500 metres until points deflected it into the path of an oncoming freight train, travelling at 46mph. The two trains collided head-on and 10 people died, including two train drivers, the express conductor, chef and six passengers.

The court heard that Hart had slept for no more than 45 minutes during the 24 hours before the crash.

The night before the crash Hart was on the telephone to Kristeen Panter, who eight days before had answered a personal advert he placed on a dating agency website.

She had recently separated from her husband.

He spent five hours talking to her and they sent each other numerous mobile phone text messages. Hart had also been using the internet for most of the night, finally going offline at 3.58am.

He denies the charges. The trial continues.

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