Driver praised for averting rail ‘murder bid’

THREE people were being questioned last night after a train crashed into a car deliberately abandoned on a level crossing.

They were arrested by detectives investigating the 60mph collision in the North that could have caused carnage. The two men and a woman were being interviewed in Coleraine, Co Derry, about what detectives are treating as attempted murder.

Police praised the driver’s skills for helping to save the lives of 30 passengers.

Even though he ploughed into the Vauxhall Astra and carried it up the track for 450 yards, he still managed to keep the train on the line. Two men who left the car stood and watched the crash before running off, police said.

None of those on the train were hurt, but they came close to being caught up in a huge tragedy.

“It was down to the driver’s expertise that we have possibly avoided a catastrophe,” Detective Inspector Nick McCaw said.

The train driver, from Derry has not been identified. He had just rounded a bend on the Belfast-Coleraine line when he spotted the car with just seconds to spare and no chance to stop in time. The maroon Astra had been abandoned parallel on the track with its rear end facing the train.

The driver got a glancing view of two men standing beside the crossing at Station Road, near the north Antrim village of Dunloy, late last night before they ran off as he struggled to prevent his engine and four carriages careering down a 20ft embankment.