Crash Victim 'tried To Stop Train'
The Age
Thursday May 10, 2007
A MAN who died in a crash involving a V/Line train and a truck tried to stop the train manually moments before the impact, a court heard.
Vic Greensill, who had been sitting in the driver's compartment of the Melbourne-bound train on April 28 last year, rushed into the passenger carriage and pulled the emergency brake lever, Ballarat Magistrates Court was told yesterday.He had initially sat next to a colleague from Pacific National, James North, in the second carriage when he boarded the ill-fated train at Ararat.But after the train left the station, Mr Greensill went to sit inside the driver's compartment with the train's driver, Ian Glasson, and another Pacific National driver, Robert Smith. Mr Greensill and Gwenda Glasson, the mother of the train's driver, were killed when the two-carriage VLocity train, carrying 36 passengers, hit a B-double truck at a level crossing at Trawalla, about 40 kilometres west of Ballarat. Yesterday, Mr Smith told the court the VLocity train had passed the crest of a hill when he saw a truck on the level crossing at Ercildoune Road. In his statement to police, Mr Smith said he saw the truck turn left onto the crossing from the Western Highway. He said Mr Greensill then rushed out of the driver's cabin saying, "I'm out of here."Another passenger told the court Mr Greensill ran into the carriage and reached for the emergency brake lever. Mr Smith said the train then hit the trailer of the truck. "I was waiting for the train to stop; it seemed to take an eternity," he told police. Truck driver Robert Green, who was among the first on the scene, said trucks such as the one involved in the crash did cause blind spots for drivers. Mr Green told police his first thoughts were: "F---, he has hit a train. Actually the train hit him as he crossed the level crossing. It was a bloody mess."Yesterday, Ivan Jenkins, 56, of Ararat, appeared in court charged with 52 counts including two of culpable driving. Motorist Timothy Richardson told the court he saw the accident unfold. He told police he felt so hopeless but rushed to help injured passengers. Passenger Lorna Gibson, who still suffers from injuries, said she thought she was going to die.She was only able to catch the Ararat train for the first time since the accident three weeks ago, but only after taking Valium. Magistrate Louise Bazzani visited the crash site with defence and prosecution representatives yesterday.The committal hearing is expected to end tomorrow.
© 2007 The Age
