Last week’s tram crash in Croydon had us all shook and desperately reaching out to anyone we know in South to make sure they were alright. Six men and one woman died in Wednesday’s crash, the youngest being 19 and the eldest being 63.
With investigations well underway into the fatal crash, we’re getting closer to finding out the facts. Unfortunately in this case it looks like we’re dealing with a horrible case of texting and driving.
On the day of the crash British Transport Police revealed that they had already arrested the tram’s driver though they could not disclose the reasons why. It has now surfaced that 42 year old Alfred Dorris, a South Londoner himself, may have been midway through writing a text when the tram derailed killing seven and injuring more than 50.
If that’s not bad enough, the BTP also revealed that the commuter tram was travelling ‘significantly’ above the allowed speed limit at the time of its derailment.
To counteract the texting claims, another line of enquiry is looking into Dorris’ story that he blacked out while in control of driving the vehicle. Trams have a safety feature where they significantly slow down to the point of stopping if the wheel is left unattended for three seconds, however if Dorris had fallen onto the wheel, his weight would have tricked the sensor.