Article: Truck driver on trial over rail crash

[ozbob]

From the Courier Mail click here!

Truck driver on trial over rail crash

Truck driver on trial over rail crash
Article from: AAP

May 26, 2009 03:00am

THE trial of a truck driver charged over the deaths of 11 people in a level crossing smash in northern Victoria begins today.

Christiaan Scholl, 49, of Wangaratta, was charged after the semi-trailer he was driving and a Melbourne-bound V/Line passenger train crashed at a level crossing on the Murray Valley Highway 6km north of Kerang, on June 5, 2007.

His Supreme Court trial will begin on Tuesday in the central Victorian city of Bendigo.
Scholl has pleaded not guilty to a number of charges including 11 counts of culpable driving causing death.

The impact tore a hole along the side of two carriages on the Swan Hill-Melbourne train, killing 11 people and injuring 22 others.

The level crossing where the collision occurred was not protected by boom gates but had flashing lights and bells, which were operating at the time.

Then Victorian premier Steve Bracks fought back tears after visiting the scene of the crash, which ranks as one of the worst railway accidents in Australia in recent years.

The incident spurred the Victorian government to launch a multi-million dollar safety upgrade of many of the state's rural level crossings.

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here!

Truckie Christiaan Scholl blames rail bells, glare for Kerang crash

Truckie Christiaan Scholl blames rail bells, glare for Kerang crash
Article from: Herald Sun

Kate Jones

May 29, 2009 12:00am

WARNING bells at a notorious country rail crossing were useless to truck drivers unless the trucks stopped, a court was told yesterday.

A truckie with 16 years' driving experience in the Kerang area said he couldn't hear the bells at the crossing until he stopped his truck.

The evidence emerged in the second day of the trial of Christiaan Scholl, 50, who is accused of killing 11 people when his truck hit a V-Line passenger train on June 5, 2007.

Scholl has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of culpable driving and eight counts of negligent driving causing serious injury.

Rod Lusty, an experienced truck driver, told the Supreme Court at Bendigo that he had witnessed the tragedy and helped two other men pull Scholl from his wrecked truck.

Under questioning from Crown prosecutor Peter Rose, SC, Mr Lusty said he knew the crossing was risky: "I usually slow down to 80 or 90 because a lot of blokes talk about it being a dangerous crossing."

During cross examination by Terry Forrest, QC, Mr Lusty said he could not hear the warning bells at the crossing until he stopped the truck.

"The bells that accompany the flashing lights are of no use to a truck driver, unless the truck stops," Mr Forrest said.

"Yes," Mr Lusty said.

Mr Lusty also said trees near the rail line made approaching trains difficult to see.

Gerard Tuohey, another truck driver who witnessed the tragedy, told the jury he had also failed to hear the warning bells, but had stopped his semi-trailer 20m from the crossing.

Seconds later he saw a truck approaching on the opposite side of the crossing. "I just seen in the distance and I thought, 'Well, he's not going to stop in time,' he said. "(He was going) too fast to stop."

Under cross-examination by Mr Forrest, Mr Tuohey said drivers approaching from the opposite direction were disadvantaged by sun glare.

Mr Tuohey also said he had not heard the bells.

"Bells are all very well for passenger cars, but if you're 100-200m from the crossing, you're not going to hear those bells are you?" Mr Forrest asked.

"No," Mr Tuohey said.

The hearing continues before Judge Stephen Kaye in Bendigo.

This report of proceedings highlights why RAIL BoT has consistently called for compulsory stopping at level crossings of trucks and buses.  E.g.

Media Release 16 April 2009

Queensland:  Time for level crossing action

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport commuters has called for decisive immediate action to protect rail crew, passengers on trains and road users at level crossings (1).

QR has said of the level crossing collisions to occur on QR tracks in the past seven years:

- 98% of collisions were directly attributable to the road user
- 96% of collisions occur at public level crossings
- 50% of collisions on average occur at crossings with boom gates and/or flashing lights (2).

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"We again call on the Queensland Government to immediately require all heavy vehicles; buses and trucks, to stop  at all unprotected railway level crossings and then for drivers to look and listen for trains approaching from either direction and to cross only when it is clearly safe to do so."

"Safe crossings are those with active protection, fail safe signalling, and as appropriate warning signs/lights 300-400 metres before the crossings."

"All level crossings should have permanent crossing road speed limits as a further layer of safety."

"Penalties for traffic breaches at level crossings must be made substantial.  A failure to stop as directed must be met with license suspension for a very significant period. Stop means stop."

"Government has a duty of care to rail employees, passengers and road users.  Let's not delay any longer. Endless inquiries and token boom gates are not changing the fundamental problem, irresponsible behaviour by road users."

References:

1.  http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=1718
2.  http://www.corporate.qr.com.au/Corporate/News_Room/Current/Press_releases/845.asp

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org

[Dean Quick]

All other witnesses and drivers in the vacinity had stopped at this crossing at the time of the incident, which begs the question why didnt this driver stop??

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here!

Kerang crash truck driver didn't see crossing lights court told
Article from: Herald Sun

AAP

June 04, 2009 12:00am

THE driver of a truck which collided with a train at a level crossing, killing 11 people, said he did not see the crossing warning lights flash.

Christian Scholl, 50, of Wangaratta, told his Supreme Court trial he believed it was safe to go through the crossing, north of Kerang, which he had crossed about 250 times.

Scholl said it was a bright, sunny day on June 5, 2007, and as he approached the crossing he noticed the crossing's lights weren't on.

"I considered it was safe to proceed because the lights were not flashing,'' he said.

He said he came around the bend doing the speed limit of 100km/h and noticed traffic on the opposite side of the crossing had slowed.

At this point he was 100 metres from the crossing and he saw the train approach.

He stood on his brakes and steered to the left in an effort to avoid the train.

Scholl is facing 19 charges including 11 of culpable driving causing death.

The trial continues.

[ozbob]

Driver has been acquitted of all charges.

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here!

Kerang truck driver not guilty

Kerang truck driver not guilty
Article from: Sunday Herald Sun

Ellen Whinnett, David Hastie

June 13, 2009 12:20pm

BREAKING NEWS: A WANGARATTA truck-driver has been found not guilty over a Kerang train crash which killed 11 people two years ago.

Christian Scholl, 50, had pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of culpable driving causing death and eight of negligent driving causing death.

Scholl sat stone-faced with his hands clasped at Bendigo Supreme Court today, while his friends and family sobbed loudly.

The charges related to accident on June 5, 2007, in which Mr Scholl?s truck collided with a V-line train on a level crossing on the Murray Valley Highway 6km north of Kerang.

A jury sitting in the Bendigo Supreme Court has just returned a verdict which found Mr Scholl not guilty on all charges.

The accident claimed the lives of Geoff McMonnies, 50, and his daughter Rosanne, 17, Stephanie Meredith, 46, and her daughters Danielle, 8, and Chantal, 5, Nick Parker, 32, Matthew Stubbs, 13, Jean Webb, 79, Margaret Wishart, 78, Harold Long, 83, and Jaeseok Lee, 26.

[ozbob]

Media Release 13 June 2009

Australia:  Level crossings - action demanded today.

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport users has called for immediate action to ensure all heavy vehicles are required to stop at all unprotected level crossings.

Robert Dow, spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"The acquittal of the truck driver who has been on trial in Victoria following the Kerang level crossing deaths and injuries makes it essential that all heavy vehicles be required to stop at all unprotected level crossings from today.  The fact that the driver did not see the flashing lights means that the crossings are not safe.  The fact that the truck hit the train means that other crossings are not safe."

"Heavy vehicles, buses and trucks must stop at all unprotected level crossings immediately and only proceed if safe to do so."

"An unprotected crossing is one without booms or gates. We have previously called for all heavy vehicles to be required to stop at unprotected crossings. This happens in many other jurisdictions already. This follows from reports of drivers of trucks to fail to hear the warning bells and not see the flashing lights at crossings because of glare. Clearly in the absence of gates/booms it is not a safe situation.  The acquittal further adds new urgency to this call."

"We call on the Federal and State Governments to take immediate actions today before there is another disaster."

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Kerang driver not guilty

Kerang driver not guilty
Kate Hagan
June 13, 2009 - 12:26PM

Truck driver Christian Scholl has been acquitted of all charges in relation to a train crash in Victoria that killed 11 people.

Scholl, 50, and his wife Di showed little reaction when the jury delivered its verdict but sobbed and hugged each other once the judge left the court.

Victims' families cried as the not guilty verdicts were returned. The jury had deliberated for a day-and-a-half before returning the verdict about 12.20pm today.

Scholl, of Wangaratta, pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of culpable driving and eight of negligently causing serious injury in relation to the crash on June 5, 2007.

The Crown case was that Scholl's driving was grossly negligent because he failed to keep a proper lookout and approach the crossing at a speed that would have allowed him to stop.

The court heard that in 2007 the crossing was fitted with lights and bells, which truck drivers said they could not hear from a distance. It has since been upgraded to include boom gates, rumble strips and advance warning signs.

Scholl, who had travelled the crossing about 250 times in the five years leading up to the crash, said he checked the crossing's warning lights on his approach but did not see them flash and considered it safe to proceed.

His lawyer Terry Forrest, QC, said Scholl had not appreciated that there was an oncoming train due to "wicked deficiencies in that crossing for north-bound traffic".

Two other drivers travelling behind Scholl on the day of the crash gave evidence that they did not see the crossing's warning lights flash until they were about 100 metres away.

A traffic engineer called by the defence, David Axip, described sun glare as "atrocious" after conducting a reconstruction of the crash in similar weather conditions.

Killed in the crash were Stephanie Meredith, 46, and her daughters Danielle, 8, and Chantal, 5; Geoffrey McMonnies, 50, and his daughter Rosanne, 17; Jean Webb, 79; Margaret Wishart, 78; Harold Long, 83; Nicholas Parker, 32; Jaeseok Lee, 26; and Matthew Stubbs, 13.

Source: theage.com.au

[ozbob]

Update

From the Sunday Herald Sun click here!

Kerang truck driver not guilty

Kerang truck driver not guilty
Article from: Sunday Herald Sun

David Hastie, Ellen Whinnett

June 13, 2009 12:20pm

UPDATE: 1.20pm A WANGARATTA truck-driver found not guilty over a Kerang train crash that killed 11 has apologised outside court.

Christian Scholl, 50, broke down in tears after a jury acquitted him at Bendigo Supreme Court today.

Mr Scholl was driving a semi-trailer that ploughed into a Melbourne-bound V/Line passenger train at a rail crossing north of Kerang on June 5, 2007.  He pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of culpable driving causing death and eight counts of negligently causing serious injury.

Reading from a hand-written notes,  Mr Scholl thanked his family and friends for their support since the accident.

"I'm relieved at the verdict of the jury and grateful for their attention to the evidence," he told reporters. "I particularly want to thank my wife Di. Her love and her constant assurance have been my rock.

"Although this criminal case is now over, I will never forget the impact of that day on the lives of so many.

"My thoughts are with those families.  I am so sorry."

A Supreme Court jury deliberated for a day and a half before delivering its verdict, clearing Mr Scholl of the culpable driving charges and also finding him not guilty of the lesser charge of dangerous driving causing death.

Mr Scholl sat stone-faced with his hands clasped at Bendigo Supreme Court as the verdict was read today.

After the judge left the courtroom, Scholl stepped down from the dock and broke down crying.
He then embraced his wife.

The charges related to accident on June 5, 2007, in which Mr Scholl?s truck collided with a V-line train on a level crossing on the Murray Valley Highway 6km north of Kerang.

A jury sitting in the Bendigo Supreme Court found Mr Scholl not guilty on all charges.

The accident claimed the lives of Geoff McMonnies, 50, and his daughter Rosanne, 17, Stephanie Meredith, 46, and her daughters Danielle, 8, and Chantal, 5, Nick Parker, 32, Matthew Stubbs, 13, Jean Webb, 79, Margaret Wishart, 78, Harold Long, 83, and Jaeseok Lee, 26.

[ozbob]

Many people would find it difficult to accept that a verdict of not guilty would be returned on all counts.

The jury heard all the evidence and formed that opinion.  So be it. 

Our task is to continue to highlight the problems and strive for safe solutions for all the community.  Our rail crew, rail passengers and vehicle drivers and occupants deserve nothing less.

[Dean Quick]

Yes, I really do find the decision of not guilty hard to accept. Apparently its OK to drive through a level crossing with the lights flashing...

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here!

Train disaster families to sue

Train disaster families to sue
Article from: Sunday Herald Sun

Sue Hewitt, Liam Houlihan

June 14, 2009 12:00am

CLEARED Kerang truck driver Christian Scholl will now be sued by a coalition of victims from the disaster.

Hours after Mr Scholl walked from court cleared on all 19 charges, a lawyer confirmed a writ for a civil lawsuit would be issued pursuing the devastated driver.

The case could then allow the victims to recover millions of dollars from the Transport Accident Commission, Mr Scholl's insurer.

The lawyer warned that V/Line and the State Government might also face action.

The 50-year-old Wangaratta man broke down in tears, then apologised, after a jury acquitted him at a Supreme Court in Bendigo yesterday.

Mr Scholl was driving a semi-trailer that ploughed into a Melbourne-bound V/Line train at a rail crossing north of Kerang on June 5, 2007, killing 11 passengers.

There were emotional scenes as the cleared truck driver and relatives of Kerang victims cried openly in court after the verdicts in his criminal trial were read.

He was found not guilty of 11 counts of culpable driving causing death and eight counts of negligently causing serious injury.

"Although this criminal case is now over, I will never forget the impact of that day on the lives of so many," Mr Scholl said outside court.

"My thoughts are with those families. I am so sorry."

The Supreme Court jury had deliberated for a day and a half before delivering its verdict, also finding him not guilty of dangerous driving causing death.

The crash claimed the lives of Geoff McMonnies, 50, and daughter Rose, 17; Stephanie Meredith, 46, and daughters, Danielle, 8, and Chantal, 5; Nick Parker, 32; Matthew Stubbs, 13; Jean Webb, 79; Margaret Wishart, 78; Harold Long, 83; and Jaeseok Lee, 26.

Shane Ryan, of Mildura's Ryan Legal, who acts on behalf of Mr McMonnies's brother, Rod McMonnies, Matthew Stubbs's father, Brett Stubbs and Mrs Webb's four adult children, said the truck driver would now be pursued through the civil courts.

He said he also acted for two women injured in the crash: Vicki (Joy) Winkel, who suffered severe facial disfigurement, and Rebecca Marchesi, who suffered substantial emotional injury.

He said he would consult a Queen's Counsel tomorrow and apply for a transcript of the trial to consider whether V/Line or the State Government should also be sued.

The truck driver, reading from handwritten notes outside court, thanked his family and friends for their support since the accident.

"I'm relieved at the verdict of the jury and grateful for their attention to the evidence," he said.

Mr Scholl had remained stony-faced in the dock yesterday morning even as the verdicts were read.

But as he left the dock and was approached by his tearful wife, Di, he slumped into her arms and wept openly.

Julie McMonnies, who lost husband Geoff, 50, and daughter Rosanne, 17, said she would wait for the verdict to sink in.

"I think we all need time to think about it," she said.

At the trial, the prosecution alleged Mr Scholl did not keep a proper watch for trains as he reached the crossing in his truck, which was laden with 15 tonnes of timber.

Mr Scholl's defence argued the crossing was a tragedy waiting to happen and that there had been several near-misses there in the past.

Mr Scholl told the jury he did not see the crossing warning lights flash from a distance of 300m, believing it was safe to cross.

Mr Scholl's lawyer, Andrew George, said his client had been emotionally rocked by the crash and legal aftermath.

"He is greatly relieved. Now he needs to spend some time with his wife and children and get some sense of order back in his life," Mr George said.

Justice Stephen Kaye commended the jury for their service.

"It would be difficult to imagine cases more difficult than this," Justice Kaye said.

The trucking company Mr Scholl works for has welcomed yesterday's verdict, but said there are no winners in the outcome.

- Ellen Whinnett and David Hastie

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here!

A town's heartbreak

A town's heartbreak
Article from: Sunday Herald Sun

Ellen Whinnett

June 14, 2009 12:00am

TUESDAY, June 5, 2007. An ordinary day in regional Victoria. A clear, sunny winter's afternoon.

The regular V/Line train left the historic Swan Hill railway station at 1pm, bound for Melbourne, with stops at a handful of country towns and Bendigo along the way.

On board were 34 passengers, going home from football, leaving church, returning from medical appointments, heading off on holidays.

Spirits were high. Strangers chatted. A man helped a teenager stow his bags.

Three V/Line staff were also on board.

The locomotive was towing a three-carriage train, which had plenty of spare seats, and the passengers moved around freely.

Many made a beeline for the second carriage, which housed the buffet, and stocked up on food from the kiosk.

Thirty minutes later, they would be involved in a horror smash with a truck that would leave 11 of them dead and the other 23 injured.

Most of those killed had been in the second carriage, where seconds before they had been buying snacks and cups of coffee as they watched the green countryside roll by.

The rail crossing on the Murray Valley Highway 6km north of Kerang was on a flat, unremarkable stretch of road.

It's called a highway, but it's really a standard, single-lane country road.

There were lights, warning bells, but no boom gates on the level crossing where it intersected that highway two years ago.

Kerang was to be the first stop for the train, a solid work-horse built in the 1980s, which was making good time.

Then, a semi-trailer loaded with 14 tonnes of timber, drums and pipe fittings appeared in view and smashed into the train, tearing apart the second and third carriages.

Each of those carriages weighed 40 tonnes. The truck had been travelling at 100km/h seconds before the crash. Those in the impact zone never stood a chance.

Matthew Stubbs was 13 years old and heading to Melbourne after a good weekend in Swan Hill captaining his under-15s footy team.

Geoff McMonnies, 50, and daughters Sharice, 15, and 17-year-old Rosanne (Rose) were excited to be going on holidays.

Somehow, Sharice survived the accident and fought for many months to recover from her injuries. Her father had helped young Matthew stow his bags.

Matthew sat with Sharice and Rosanne on the train.

Victorians mourned with brave Sharice weeks later, when she appeared in a wheelchair at a funeral for her sister and her father.

Jean Webb, 79, was heading from her home town of Swan Hill to see her daughter in Melbourne and great-grandmother Margaret Wishart, 78, was going home to Kerang after medical treatment in Swan Hill. Harold Long, 83, was a great-grandfather.

Nicholas Parker, 32, from New Zealand, had been visiting family in Mildura, while Jaeseok Lee, 26, from Korea, was also enjoying a dream holiday.

Stephanie Meredith, 46, from Rowville, was travelling with her daughters Chantal, 5, and Danielle, 8.

All were killed. Their families grieved. Those families wanted to know how the accident happened and why.

The lights had been flashing and alarm bells sounding at the crossing.

Other traffic had come to a stop and drivers and passengers, including some on the train, could only watch in horror as a truck headed towards the train, its speed unchecked until almost the last second.

The driver of that big rig was Christian Scholl, a 50-year-old from Wangaratta, who lay dazed after the accident, saying over and over again that he was sorry.

So sorry.

Mr Scholl told the jury two years later that he simply didn't see the train until it was too late.

His attempts to brake and steer away failed.

He hadn't been drinking, speeding or taking drugs. He wasn't dazzled by the sun. He was wearing his prescription glasses.

He had travelled safely over that same crossing 250 times in the past five years, backwards and forwards on the nine-hour trip between his home town of Wangaratta and Adelaide.

But for some reason he didn't see a big train pulling three carriages hurtling towards him. He didn't see the flashing lights and he didn't hear the bells.

All he saw, much too late, was a train that he knew he was going to hit.

Two local men kept him company and comforted him as he lay trapped in the crumpled remains of his truck, waiting for emergency crews to free him.

In the minutes after the crash, witnesses, including the train driver, rushed to help the survivors.

Witnesses say they heard screaming and moaning. Some survivors sat quietly in their seats, covered in shards of broken glass.

Some described the train as looking as if it had been hit by a bomb. Others said it opened up like a tin can.

Dozens of frantic mobile calls summoned help to the scene -- police, fire brigades, the SES and ambulance vehicles, paramedics, doctors, nurses. The first call to 000 was registered at 1.34pm.

The rescuers came from Kerang, Cohuna and Swan Hill, while volunteer SES workers rushed from Swan Hill, Castlemaine, Robinvale and Woodend.

The most seriously injured were airlifted to Melbourne, while others were treated at local hospitals.

Those who could not be saved were moved into tents, incongruous blue and orange, which were set up near the tracks as temporary morgues.

Some passengers received only minor cuts and bruises. They helped where they could.

Locals flocked to the crash site, searching desperately for loved ones up and down the tracks.

News of the smash had spread and the locals knew the only train at that time of the day was a passenger one.

The red and blue train had been torn open along its side.

Red seats spilled out down the embankment. Windows were smashed, luggage and debris spread for hundreds of metres.

The damage to the tracks caused by the impact was so severe it took a week to reopen the line.

A small distance away lay the crumpled wreck of Mr Scholl's green and white Wangaratta-based Canny Carrying Co prime mover.

Swan Hill truckie Rod Knight heard about the crash on his radio and rushed to the scene.

He found his mother-in-law and crash survivor Glenys Lee wandering distraught, but almost unharmed.

"There were a lot of elderly people, which made it a bit harder to get people out," Mr Knight said after joining the rescuers.

Train driver Barry Lidster could only look on as the truck approached on his right and pray that it missed.

He sounded his whistle twice, but Mr Scholl's truck kept coming.

The last thing he saw as the truck left his line of sight was movement in the cabin, as Mr Scholl tried to steer away from the train.

Adrienne Rowell was travelling in the first carriage on her way to work when she saw the rapidly approaching truck on her right.

She screamed and grabbed the seat in front to brace herself, then felt the impact as the truck slammed into the second and third carriages.

Ms Rowell told the Supreme Court sitting in Bendigo that she heard a sound "like a muffled bomb going off".

Another passenger, Simon Crawford, told how he saw a woman "go flying" as the truck hit.

"It is like nothing you can ever imagine -- it is much worse than the movies. It all happened in slow motion," he said.

Mr Crawford, 19, suffered a broken collar bone in the crash.

The police charged Mr Scholl with 11 counts of causing death by culpable driving and eight counts of negligently causing serious injury.

Tears flowed in Kerang and Swan Hill, where families held funerals to farewell their loved ones.

More tears were shed in hospital waiting rooms, where desperate people prayed for their badly-injured family members.

And on television, then-premier Steve Bracks broke down in front of the cameras after police took him on a tour of the carnage.

A year later, tears flowed again when mourners gathered at a church in Kerang to pay tribute on the tragedy's first anniversary.

Yesterday, there were tears in court too, after Mr Scholl was cleared of 19 charges.

The horror collision, the jury had deemed, was a dreadful accident.

It was not, the verdict says, a crime.

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here!

Crossing 'at fault'

Crossing 'at fault'
Article from: Sunday Herald Sun

Liam Houlihan and Peter Rolfe

June 14, 2009 12:00am

A WOMAN who lost her grandfather in the Kerang rail disaster says the safety of the crossing, not the driver, was the cause of the tragedy.

And as the spotlight fell on the Government following the verdict clearing the truck driver, the State Opposition said there had been warnings about the crossing.

Jaimie Ledwidge's grandfather, Harold Long, 83, died from a heart attack following the crash as paramedics airlifted him to Melbourne.

Ms Ledwidge yesterday echoed the jury verdict in exonerating truck driver Christian Scholl.

"I think as soon as you have a railway crossing without a boom gate you're asking for these sorts of things to happen," she said.

"As much as it's really easy for us to blame a truck driver, the fact is there were lots of circumstances on the day."

Ms Ledwidge said she was not angry with the driver and the fault lay with the level crossing.

She said she would like to see all rail crossings in Victoria grade separated so there would not be a repeat of the disaster.

Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder said the Government had been warned of the dangers of the Murray Valley Highway level crossing, which was one of 50 across the state identified as needing "urgent modification".

"The issue is, how many warnings does an authority have to get before it acts?" he said. "The work should have been done before there was a tragedy."

Terry Forrest, the QC representing Mr Scholl, last month described the Kerang crossing as a "time bomb" with six near misses in the 10 months before the crash.

Transport Minister Lynne Kosky last night refused to comment on the court's ruling, but said her thoughts remained with the families affected by the tragedy.

"The best legacy we can build to honour those who died in this tragedy is to continue improving level crossings across the state and this is what we are doing."

The Government cut the speed limit at the crossing to 80km/h and fitted modern lights, boom gates and rumble strips after the accident.

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

'I'll never forget... I'm sorry'

'I'll never forget... I'm sorry'

Kate Hagan
June 14, 2009

TRUCK driver Christiaan Scholl sat with his hands folded in his lap in the dock of the Supreme Court in Bendigo, expressionless, awaiting his fate. As the 12 jurors filed into the court, one looked at him and gave a half-smile.

First, the foreman announced the jury had found Mr Scholl not guilty of culpable driving over the death of Nicholas Parker, 32. Then, on the alternative charge of dangerous driving causing Mr Parker's death, followed a second not guilty.

Next were verdicts for the 10 others killed and eight injured in the June 2007 collision between Scholl's truck and a train at a level crossing near Kerang. But within those first few minutes the jury's intention was clear: they would acquit Mr Scholl of all charges.

Mr Scholl did not react at first. Nor did his wife, Di, whom he later described as "my rock". At one stage, he closed his eyes, then opened them to look at his still-shaking hands.

Relatives of seven of the eight people killed in the crash, who attended court each day of the three-week trial, sat together behind the dock, rugged up against the cold in heavy jackets. Some of the women cried quietly as the verdicts were delivered; others looked blankly ahead.

The jury delivered its verdict at midday yesterday after deliberating for a day and a half.

At first, Mr Scholl was so shaken he had to grab onto the back of a wooden bench for support. Then his wife, Di, sobbing, took over and the couple stood and hugged for many minutes.

Outside the court, relatives of the victims had no words for the waiting media. Some were angry, some devastated and some just in shock.

Later, Aaron Meredith, whose aunt Stephanie and cousins Danielle, 8 and Chantal, 5, were killed in the collision, said his family was taking it one day at a time.

"It was has been an unbelievable loss, a pure accident and nothing will bring the girls back," he said. "It has been so hard over the past two years. It was a tragic accident and the court has found there to be no fault."

Lindsay Webb ? whose wife of almost 25 years, Jean, was killed in the collision ? perhaps spoke for many when he said: "He's got to get on with his life and we have to get on with ours." Some victims are reportedly planning a civil lawsuit against Mr Scholl in order to claim millions from the Transport Accident Commission.

Mr Scholl, 50, described by his lawyer Terry Forrest, QC, as an honourable and decent man, read from a handwritten statement.

"Although this terrible case is now over I will never forget the impact of that day on the lives of so many. My thoughts remain with those families. I am so sorry."

Mr Scholl, unaware of the crossing's notorious reputation, left home on June 5, 2007, at 10.30am instead of his usual 9am. He had never encountered a train at the crossing in the five years he had travelled weekly to Adelaide.

He told the court he checked the crossing's warning lights on his approach but did not see them flash, so considered it safe to proceed at the 100km/h speed limit. He realised something was wrong when he emerged from a bend in the road about 100 metres from the crossing and saw traffic slowing on the other side.

He saw the train and stepped on the brakes, trying to steer his truck into a gully in front of the tracks, but it was too late.

The prosecution said his driving was grossly negligent because he failed to keep a proper lookout and approach the crossing at a speed that would have allowed him to stop.

In fact, two other drivers travelling behind Mr Scholl on the day of the crash did not realise there was an approaching train until about 100 metres back from the crossing either, when they finally noticed the warning lights flash.

Questions over the State Government's lack of action on the crossing, despite repeated warnings from V/Line on its dangers, featured throughout the trial.

V/Line safety manager Lawrence Foley said that from July 2006 no other crossing in Victoria had generated as much correspondence about collisions narrowly avoided.

In a report provided to Department of Infrastructure operations manager Terry Spicer in August 2006, V/Line warned that the Kerang crossing lights blended into the landscape, particularly in bright sunshine.

In September, V/Line CEO Rob Barnett became personally involved, telling Mr Spicer his drivers had reported at least eight near misses with cars at the crossing in five months.

Mr Spicer's response was that the method for identifying rail crossings to be upgraded was "deliberately not" driven by accident histories.

"The whole philosophy of embracing a risk management (approach) to railway crossing safety is to accept that accidents are things that just happen," he wrote.

But V/Line continued to raise concerns, including those of train driver supervisor Peter Smith, who warned in a February 2007 email that it was "only a matter of time before a serious accident occurs at this location".

Adrienne Rowell, one of the 34 passengers on the train, was seated in the first carriage and screamed when she saw Mr Scholl's truck approaching, grabbing the seat in front to brace herself as it hit the second and third carriages. The impact was "like a muffled bomb going off".

Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder said the State Government had known for years that the Kerang crossing was unsafe but had failed to act.

"There is something very wrong with the Government that knows there are scores of dangerous level crossings in Victoria but fails to invest in the required infrastructure," he said. It had taken the loss of 11 lives for the Government to upgrade the crossing, which now includes boom gates, rumble strips and a reduced speed limit of 80km/h.

But Transport Minister Lynne Kosky said the best legacy the Government could build to honour the dead "was to continue improving level crossings across the state and this is what we are doing". The Government had committed $33.2 million to improve level crossings since the tragedy.

Killed in the crash, along with the Merediths and Jean Webb, 79, were Geoffrey McMonnies, 50, and his daughter Rosanne, 17; Margaret Wishart, 78; Harold Long, 83; Nicholas Parker, 32; Jaeseok Lee, 26; and Matthew Stubbs, 13.

In his closing address on Wednesday, Mr Forrest said it had been a privilege to represent Mr Scholl.

With JANAE HOUGHTON

and MELISSA FYFE

[Dean Quick]

This drivers defense claimed that this particular level crossing was dangerous and vision was somehow poor and that he had driven over it 250 times. If he really did care and if he really was paying attention wouldn't common sense tell you to approach the crossing with extra care and vigilance!!!!

[ozbob]

I hear you Dean.

I am more determined than ever to stop the carnage.

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here!

50 people file claims over Kerang train crash

50 people file claims over Kerang train crash
Article from: Herald Sun

Ruth Lamperd

June 15, 2009 12:00am

TWO Melbourne women who held the hands of dying passengers after the Kerang train crash say they are devastated that the truck driver involved was cleared of any wrongdoing.

As Christiaan Scholl's boss said his employee was unlikely to drive trucks again, the road accident insurer confirmed about 50 people had lodged compensation claims.

The Transport Accident Commission's bill is expected to top $10 million with more lining up to sue for injuries, mental anguish and lost income.

But victims angrily claimed no amount of money would compensate them for what they saw as a miscarriage of justice.

Wantirna South grandmother Adrienne Rowell said yesterday she and other victims and their families were shocked that the jury had acquitted Mr Scholl of all 19 charges, including 11 of culpable driving causing death.

She was one of five passengers from the front carriage of the ill-fated V/Line train to rush back to the aid of the injured and dying in the second carriage.

"Every day of my life I live through it . . . the sound of the accident, the silence afterwards, the smell of the blood, the death, the heat that surrounded me," Mrs Rowell said.

"From the train I could see his (Mr Scholl's) truck from a long, long way off. Why couldn't he see the train, which was so much bigger than him?"

Mr Scholl returned home to Wangaratta yesterday with his wife Di.

"We don't want to profit in any way from this, so we won't be talking to any media outlets," Mrs Scholl told the Herald Sun.

In the June 5, 2007, crash at a level crossing north of Kerang, near the NSW border, 11 people died and eight were seriously hurt.

Mrs Rowell and Suzanne Fyffe were prosecution witnesses in Mr Scholl's three-week trial in the Supreme Court in Bendigo.

Ms Fyffe said yesterday she wanted to know why the Crown did not put its case more strongly.

She said many of the victims felt that questions went unasked or unanswered during the trial.

Both women and three others from the front carriage are seeking TAC compensation.

Their lawyer, Slater and Gordon's Don Maffia, said the accident had a profound effect on their lives, which had been an emotional rollercoaster since.

"It continues. This is probably an added trauma for them."

Ms Fyffe said she was gutted that Mr Scholl walked free from court without so much as a fine or a loss of licence.

"I sat and cried for three hours after I heard the verdict and my phone has run red hot from families of people who died who still want answers," Ms Fyffe said.

"Where is the justice? My life will never be the same again. I will never get the images of what I saw that day out of my mind - the smoke, the dust, the eeriness, the deathly quiet of that carriage, except for the moans of the people trapped and dying."

"If Christiaan Scholl isn't to blame for what happened, who is?"

-- with Padraic Murphy and Nick Higginbottom

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

No precedent set by Kerang payout: TAC

No precedent set by Kerang payout: TAC
Joel Cresswell
July 25, 2011 - 1:44PM

AAP

The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) says an out-of-court settlement paid to a conductor caught up in the Kerang rail disaster does not set a precedent for future damages claims.

The TAC made an undisclosed payment to Hayden Buckland for injuries he sustained when a truck hit a V/Line passenger train in 2007.

Eleven people died in the collision in the state's northwest.

"Mr Buckland was claiming compensation from the TAC for injuries arising from his exposure to the immediate aftermath of the tragedy," a TAC spokeswoman said in a statement.

"The TAC can confirm Mr Buckland was compensated following an out of court settlement last week."

"Details of the settlement are confidential."

Mr Buckland was seeking compensation from the TAC as the compulsory insurer of the truck driver, Christian Scholl, and issued his damages claim in the Supreme Court.

The TAC has confirmed other passengers on the train at the time of the crash have also sought compensation from the road safety body.

But the TAC says its payment to Mr Buckland does not set a precedent for any future cases.

Mr Buckland told a Victorian Coroners Court inquiry into the rail disaster in January he hauled seats off the injured in the aftermath of the crash.

He then used his nursing background to tend to patients while they awaited the arrival of paramedics.

"My hands were covered in blood," he said.

"The seats in the second carriage had been thrown up against the righthand side of the carriage and there were some people trapped behind these seats."

Mr Buckland declined to comment on the payment due to a confidentiality claim signed with the TAC.

Mr Scholl was found not guilty of 11 counts of culpable driving causing death in 2009.

© 2011 AAP

[ozbob]

Herald Sun --> Train driver suing truck driver's insurer over Kerang smash