'Fatal rail crash accused saw passengers' faces'

The man at the centre of the Selby rail crash court case in Britain saw the train passengers' faces as it ploughed into his Land Rover.

Gary Hart was just 20ft away when the GNER train travelling at 117 mph smashed into his vehicle and trailer.

Leeds Crown Court was told Hart described the events to liability adjustor Jeffrey Stagg three days after the disaster on the East Coast mainline near Great Heck, North Yorkshire.

Hart, of Strubby, Lincolnshire, denies 10 counts of causing death by dangerous driving.

Mr Stagg interviewed 37-year-old Hart at his wife's home in Louth for three-and-a-half hours on March 3.

Hart told Mr Stagg: "I had one hand on the bottom of the wheel and was driving on auto-pilot. I heard a bang from somewhere at the back of the Land Rover. I put both hands on the wheel.

"Instantly, the Land Rover went across to the side of the road. As soon as I hit the verge, I bumped along and then I listed 45 degrees.

"I saw the trees, I was braced tight, trying to keep it in a line. I thought I was going to go to the bottom of the embankment. I levelled off then I thought I was in a field. Then it went black and quiet. I went straight down. There was dust everywhere then it settled."

Mr Stagg said that Hart then described how he got out of his Land Rover on the passenger side and dialled 999 immediately.

In the interview, Hart continued: "I was 20 feet away when it hit the Land Rover. I was standing to the back of the trailer. I saw the people on the train - I saw their faces. I phoned the police again and told them the train had crashed through the Land Rover."