[Article] Trucker fined for leaving scene of Dart cable crash

[Colm Moore]

Original thread. http://www.railusers.ie/forum/showthread.php?t=11743

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...320449774.html

Trucker fined for leaving scene of Dart cable crash
TOM TUITE

A TRUCK driver who fled the scene after he crashed into overhead Dart cables at a level crossing in Dublin has been fined €500.

About 800m of wiring was torn away after being snagged by a crane on a lorry passing through the Merrion gates, Dublin 4, on December 30th, 2009. It had been the most significant damage to overhead lines in a single incident in the history of the Dart and disrupted services for about 15,000 commuters for a day and a half.

Eamon Cosgrove (47), Grove Lodge, Bay Lane, Kilshane, Dublin, was fined after he pleaded guilty yesterday to careless driving and failing to remain at the scene after a collision.

Garda Victoria Montgomery told Judge Alan Mitchell at Dublin District Court that Cosgrove turned his lorry on to the Merrion gates. A crane on his lorry had not been lowered properly and there was a collision with overhead cables, Judge Mitchell was told.

Cosgrove left the scene, but contacted gardaÃ* the next day to make a statement. Garda Montgomery accepted Cosgrove was “shockedâ€� at what happened and that it had devastating effects on him.

In pleading for leniency, Cosgrove’s lawyer said his marriage had since broken down and that he had had a successful business delivering containers but that this had failed. The court heard he was remorseful and that he had made “a terrible error� in not retracting the crane. The judge was asked to note Cosgrove had no previous convictions nor any penalty points.

The lawyer said it was “a panic situation�, as Cosgrove had pulled in down the road but felt intimidated as people were coming out of houses and taking photographs.

The judge said he had clearly suffered sufficient trauma.

[James Howard]

Aww - the poor lamb.

Maybe the judge should read the article (15 thousand people disrupted). This man has no business operating a Heavy Goods Vehicle if he isn't capable of securing it for a journey. And then he compounded it by leaving the scene.

This just continues if there are no consequences. 500 euro doesn't count - less than a week's diesel for a truck.