Croydon tram crash 2016: 7 victims died in an accident and were not unlawfully killed

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The seven victims of the 2016 Croydon tram crash died as a result of an accident and were not unlawfully killed, the jury at the inquest into their deaths has concluded at Croydon Town Hall.

Dane Chinnery 19, Philip Seary, 57, Dorota Rynkiewicz, 35, Robert Huxley, 63, and Philip Logan, all from New Addington, and Donald Collett, 62, and Mark Smith, both from Croydon, all died in the derailment in November 2016.

An inquest at Croydon Town Hall has heard how investigators believe the tram driver, Alfred Dorris, slipped into a “microsleep” for nearly a minute in the lead-up to the crash.

The tram failed to slow to the 12mph speed limit as it approached the sharp bend near to the Sandilands stop, hitting the curve at 45mph when it lifted off the rails and overturned.

Delivering its findings this morning, the inquest jury returned a verdict of “accident”, rejecting the possible conclusion of unlawful killing.

Reading out verdict, the jury foreman said Mr Dorris “The tram driver became disorientated, which caused loss of awareness in his surroundings, probably due to a lack of sleep.

“As a result of which, the driver failed to brake in time and drove his tram towards a tight curve at excessive speed.

“The tram left the rails and overturned onto its right side, as a result of which the deceased was ejected from the tram and killed.”

The jury found failures by Tram Operations Ltd – which ran the Croydon line – criticising its risk assessment process and saying some measures to mitigate the risk of a crash had not been taken.

Seven people died in the 6am crash and all but one of the survivors were physically injured in the derailment, with some of the victims being thrown from the tram’s windows and doors.

Chief Inspector Simon French from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch told the inquest: “The tram emerged from a tunnel before hitting a left-hand curve - it overturned, tipped over and then slid along on its side.

“Witnesses spoke of it being like being in a washing machine, being thrown. I found that quite shocking. It’s fast and violent, it takes place in a matter of seconds.”

Trying to explain Mr Dorris’ failure to brake, he said: “We think it’s certainly possible there was a ‘microsleep’, a loss of consciousness, a short sleep.”

The inquest heard how six drivers had been involved in “near misses” on the network for being asleep at the wheel between 2011 and 2016.

A survey by accident investigators also found 21 out of 59 drivers who admitted braking late in the Sandilands tunnel before the bend.

Chief Inspector French said he believes drivers “felt unable to report they had made a mistake”, and may have not appreciate the dangers of the incident.

Crash investigators found Mr Dorris had a maximum of five hours and 20 minutes sleep the night before his shift, and his driving “may have been affected by fatigue”.

The driver himself “complained that it was very dark in the tunnel, and the lack of the alerting effects of light in the early morning during the winter may have also exacerbated his fatigue”, the inquest heard.

Mr Huxley’s son Ross said their family have been left with “memories of a wonderful sense of humour, of happiness and good times shared with loved ones and friends, which will be remembered with great affection for generations to come.

“Bob encouraged and comforted but never steered, so through his family and friends tears we see the blessing of knowing and loving a great family man.”

He said the avid music and Chelsea FC fan, from New Addington, had a career as an electrician spanning 40 years, and was “loyal, dependable and totally committed” to his family.

Mr Logan was on his way to work as a bricklayer when he died, his widow Marilyn Logan told the court, saying the news was “absolutely devastating”.

“Phil was a very energetic man, and he wasn’t happy unless he was doing something,” she said, in a statement read by her daughter Danielle.

“In a way I am still in denial about the loss of my husband. All of my family were badly affected by the loss of a great husband and a very kind man.”

The inquest heard Mr Chinnery, who worked for wet waste firm Hydro Cleansing, had been a huge Crystal Palace fan, and also loved classic cars. His mother Beverley Gray said he had also been a big fan of the band Madness, and that the band sent cards and flowers when they heard of his death.

“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about him and what he would have become”, she said. “I wonder what he would look like and if he would have changed much?

“He was a handsome lad with an infectious laugh. He was always laughing, always telling jokes.”

Mr Seary’s widow Ann described how she met her husband, “a kind, extremely hard working and much loved and caring person”, on a blind date in America.

She said Mr Seary, an electrical engineer at the Royal Opera House, had become a devoted step-father to her three daughters, calling him “warm, lovable, kind, generous, easy to talk to and truly one of the good guys with a heart of gold”.

“He was extremely likeable and had an impact on everyone he met, I do not think I will ever come to terms with how cruelly he was taken from us”, she said.

Tracy Angelo, Mr Collett’s daughter, said her father had always lived in south London and worked on many of the skyscrapers in Canary Wharf.

“One of the things he would always say to us if we called him of an evening with a worry or a problem; he would tell us to sleep on it and things would always look better in the morning,” she said.

“Unfortunately though, this piece of advice has not been something that I can say is true since November 9 2016, things have not looked better in the morning for any of us without dad’s smiling face in our world.”

Mother-of-two Ms Rynkiewicz had been on her way to her job at Millies Cookies at Victoria Station when she was killed. A trained accountant, she and her husband Andrzej met at university and married on Christmas Day 2005 before moving to the UK.

In a statement, Mr Rynkiewicz told the inquest that their daughters had been just seven and five when she died.

“(Dorota) juggled being a mother with her aspirations to continue progressing in her career. As well as working hard she was a wonderful mother to our girls.”

He added: “Having to tell them about the crash was awful. Not a day goes by when the girls and I don’t miss her terribly.”

Mark Smith’s mother Jean said her son, a specialist glass installer, had been on his way to work at a site in St James Park on the day of the crash.

The father-of-one was engaged to be married was described as “a dedicated, reliable, responsible, respectful, honest and trustworthy young man”.

The inquest process has been beset with delays, and the jury chose to acknowledge the “impact it has had on the families” in its closing remarks

Coroner Sarah Ormond-Walshe will now go on to consider recommendations that she could make to prevent the risk of future deaths.

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