The Thessaloniki Administrative Court, consisting of three persons, acquitted the OSE driver who was on trial for a train accident that occurred in May 2017 outside “Adendros” in Thessaloniki, when an Intercity passenger train on the Athens – Thessaloniki route derailed derailed due to speeding, fatally injuring three people and injuring at least ten.

Among the dead was a fellow driver of the 45-year-old defendant, the head of the train, as well as a passenger on the train. The court acquitted the train driver (he acted as the second driver, i.e. assistant) due to doubts about the commission of manslaughter and causing bodily harm, both by negligence and serially, accepting the prosecutor’s previous acquittal proposal.

The accident occurred shortly before the arrival of the train at Adendros station, passing on the bypass line with the input signal turned on, while a slow signal was given with a predicted speed of 60 km/h. However, according to the experts’ conclusions – and as described in the indictment – the train was moving at a point at a speed of 144 km / h, as a result of which it derailed, the first two of the five cars rolled over and hit their heads. -on the first floor of the neighboring two-story house.

“He did not take care, together with the (deceased) train driver, to observe the slow motion signal and set the speed to 60 km at the time necessary for the train to safely cross the siding and arrive at Adendros station. , as he was in the driver’s cabin, ”says the indictment with which the 45-year-old man was sent to court.

“I couldn’t prevent the accident”

In his apology and emotional charge, he expressed condolences to the relatives of the victims, assuring that if he could do something to prevent the accident, he would do it. He added that he blindly trusted his colleague, because “for many years I did this route twice a week.”

“I know this route very well. I drove from Athens to Larissa and then my colleague took over. He was very formal about speeds and observed them reverently. There was a similar moment at New Pieria Resources when he reacted properly, dropping from 160 km/h to 60. I had no idea that he would not behave the same way in Adendros, it was from experience. I had no reason not to trust him,” he added.

“Leaving Katerini, we found that the train could not reach 160 km / h, which is the planned speed, i.e. the speed that the train must reach in order to avoid delays,” he continued his apology, emphasizing that this appears to have been caused by damage. to the “rear engine”, as a result of which “diesel power is reduced”.

According to him, he then went to check the damage, and after fixing it, he fixed it and entered it in the repair log, returning to the engine room. It appears that a few seconds after his return, there was a crash. “I did not see the traffic lights on the Adendros bypass, either because we passed them or because they were covered with grass. If I saw them, I would react. I saw only a change in the trajectory. We flew into the air, I instinctively fell to the floor. I asked a colleague if he was alive, but he did not answer,” he described the moment of the tragic accident.

“Domino happened on the cart”

Earlier in court, experts, relatives of the victims and passengers of the fateful train testified as witnesses. “I was in the third carriage. The train was on a straight course. I didn’t notice any slowdown. Due to gravity, I was abandoned. There was a knuckle in the car, the seats fell off … ”- said the injured passenger, he had spinal bruises and abrasions on his face.

It should be noted that all victims on the train have already been compensated for the damage caused to them, as was presented during the court hearing.

Source: RES-IPE