Delivery driver admits level crossing crash
GoogleA delivery driver has admitted he did not follow the right protocol at a level crossing when his van collided with a passenger train.
William Backhouse had been delivering parcels in Braystones, near Egremont, Cumbria, when the crash happened on 13 September, causing the line to be closed for hours. No-one was injured.
Pam Fee, prosecuting, said CCTV footage showed Backhouse opening the level crossing gates by hand without ringing the signaller to seek permission to cross, as per procedure at that type of crossing.
Appearing before magistrates in Workington, the 30-year-old pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and endangering the safety of people travelling on a railway.
The court heard having delivered packages to properties along the beach, he returned to cross the level crossing while a train carrying 10 passengers was travelling southbound at 49mph (79kph).
The train struck the front of the van but managed to apply the emergency breaks.
"Backhouse is lucky he wasn't a bit further forward or he would have been seriously injured," the prosecutor said.
Backhouse, who now lives in Bury St Edmunds, was given an interim driving ban until his next hearing at Ipswich Magistrates' Court, where he will be sentenced on 26 February.
