Ostrava - A Czech district court today remanded in custody the 50-year-old Polish 'Sondaj' lorry driver who probably caused a fatal rail accident, which claimed three lives, near Studenka, north Moravia.
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| Trail of Polish Truck Driver Sondaj |
The lorry driver drove on a level crossing though the gates were going down and the red light was on. A high-speed Pendolino train, running at up to 160 km/hour, bumped into the lorry.
Full accident video
Two people died on the spot and the third succumbed to fatal injuries in hospital. Eighteen people, from the train, were injured. Six are still hospitalised, while three of them are at an intensive care unit in a very serious condition, Ostrava Teaching Hospital spokesman Tomas Oborny said.
The Polish driver faces up to ten years in prison for negligent endangering of public safety.
Judge Radim Svec told reporters that he agreed with the state attorney´s reasons for custody, in particular that the accused driver might attempt to avoid the prosecution.
"The driver sincerely regrets his act, he is gradually realising what he has caused," Svec said.
The driver has admitted he knew that the red light was on. His act will be investigated, Svec added.
He said the accident was also a consequence of the driver´s avoiding paid motorway sections.
The driver was in the lorry cab when the train crashed into it, but he escaped with no serious injuries since the train cut off the cab, regional deputy police chief Radim Witta told reporters on Thursday.
The rest of the lorry transporting sheet metal caught fire and the train pushed the burning debris along several hundred metres.
The Polish driver had no problems with traffic rules observance on Czech roads in the past, Witta said.
However, he told public Czech Television (CT) later that the driver had quite many police records about traffic offences in Poland, according to unofficial Polish information.
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