Driver Who Caused Selby Rail Clash Blames Fate
Gary Hart, the motorist who caused the fatal Selby rail crash in February 2001, has claimed that the accident was 'fated' to happen he told injury solicitors.
Speaking on the 10th anniversary of the incident (Monday), Mr Hart said: "I believe in fate and I was meant to be there that morning. The accident occurred because I was there. The same for the people that were on the train. They were meant to be there that morning".
Mr Hart's Land Rover left the M62 and careered onto the railway track in Great Heck after the then 36-year-old driver fell asleep at the wheel. The position of Mr Hart's vehicle resulted in the collision of a 1,800-tonne freight train and a London express passenger train that was travelling at 125mph. Ten people died in the crash.
Mr Hart claimed to have fallen asleep behind the wheel of his Land Rover because he had been kept awake for much of the night before, chatting to a woman he had met online. Having been found guilty of ten counts of causing death by dangerous driving, Mr Hart was sentenced to five years imprisonment but was released after serving just 30 months after the whiplash claims.
Mr Hart said: "As far as being asleep at the wheel, that's what I went to prison for. It's not what the truth is. No deaths occurred at the point of impact with my Land Rover. They all occurred 700 yards down the track, which I feel other people should have been held accountable for, so in my own head I've dealt with it in that fashion".
The convicted dangerous driver added: "There's not a day gone by that I haven't thought about Selby. I've absolved myself not of responsibility, but of knowing anything about them [the victims]. That would degenerate my life into misery. I survived this accident and I want to survive the rest of my life and remain sane in some way".
Personal injury claims involving accidents on Britain's railway network have usually arisen following instances of negligence by railway companies or members of staff, including drivers. In the present case, Mr Hart appeared to be solely responsible for the crash, yet his comments would suggest that other people - and fate - were to blame for the accident. However Mr Hart chooses to come to terms with his part in the Selby rail crash, nothing will change the fact that his tired driving resulted in the deaths of ten people.
Speaking on the 10th anniversary of the incident (Monday), Mr Hart said: "I believe in fate and I was meant to be there that morning. The accident occurred because I was there. The same for the people that were on the train. They were meant to be there that morning".
Mr Hart's Land Rover left the M62 and careered onto the railway track in Great Heck after the then 36-year-old driver fell asleep at the wheel. The position of Mr Hart's vehicle resulted in the collision of a 1,800-tonne freight train and a London express passenger train that was travelling at 125mph. Ten people died in the crash.
Mr Hart claimed to have fallen asleep behind the wheel of his Land Rover because he had been kept awake for much of the night before, chatting to a woman he had met online. Having been found guilty of ten counts of causing death by dangerous driving, Mr Hart was sentenced to five years imprisonment but was released after serving just 30 months after the whiplash claims.
Mr Hart said: "As far as being asleep at the wheel, that's what I went to prison for. It's not what the truth is. No deaths occurred at the point of impact with my Land Rover. They all occurred 700 yards down the track, which I feel other people should have been held accountable for, so in my own head I've dealt with it in that fashion".
The convicted dangerous driver added: "There's not a day gone by that I haven't thought about Selby. I've absolved myself not of responsibility, but of knowing anything about them [the victims]. That would degenerate my life into misery. I survived this accident and I want to survive the rest of my life and remain sane in some way".
Personal injury claims involving accidents on Britain's railway network have usually arisen following instances of negligence by railway companies or members of staff, including drivers. In the present case, Mr Hart appeared to be solely responsible for the crash, yet his comments would suggest that other people - and fate - were to blame for the accident. However Mr Hart chooses to come to terms with his part in the Selby rail crash, nothing will change the fact that his tired driving resulted in the deaths of ten people.
