Croydon tram crash driver tested for drink and drugs after ‘blacking out at the wheel’ as phone records also probed
The 42-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after the horrific rail derailment on Thursday morning.
THE driver of the tram which crashed in Croydon killing seven people has been tested to see if he had taken drugs or alcohol before the horror rail accident.
The 42-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after the horrific rail derailment on Thursday morning.
There was no reportedly no suggestion this played a part in the crash.
Mobile phone records of the man, from Beckenham, South London, are also being examined by police and the Rail Accident Investigation Bureau.
Investigators have revealed “excessive speed” most likely caused the tram to overturn.
The damaged Croydon tram was transported along West Wickham, High Street this morning.
Rail investigators plan to release an interim report next week and have been examining the tram’s black box which records time, speed and distance travelled.
British Transport Police are investigating claims that a speeding tram near the crash site had “lifted on to one side at 40mph”.
Tributes to those who were killed in the crash have been paid, after the driver - a 42-year-old man from Beckenham - was arrested and then released on conditional bail.
Today a concerned commuter told how he repeatedly warned TfL about speeding trams before the Croydon tram crash that killed seven.
Andy Smith said he wrote to complain after the tram he was travelling on approached the same corner too fast.
The left-hand curve where the derailment happened is approached along a tunnel where trams are allowed to reach 50mph, while the bend has a speed limit of 12mph.
The passenger was left terrified that the tram was going to derail because "the speed was so fast, I honestly didn't think we would make the left-hand turn".
He claims he emailed TfL to voice his concerns because he "knew this was coming".
Andy, who was close to the crash when it happened on Wednesday morning, told the : "During the summer, I felt that the train was going to derail because the speed was so fast that I honestly didn't think we were going to make the left-hand turn.
"I emailed TfL...I did make a complaint.
"I knew this was going to happen."
The local explained how when the tram exits the tunnel near Sandilands, it starts turning to make the left bend where the horror crash happened, but the tram sometimes takes it too quickly.
He isn't the only passenger to have complained about the corner.
Andy Nias recalled the moment the tram he was travelling on "lifted to one side" on the bend just over a week before the crash.
He wrote on October 31: “Oh mate... 30 of us on the tram this morning and we all thought our time was up.
“Tram driver took the hard corner to Sandilands at 40mph!! I swear the tram lifted onto one side.
“Everyone still shaking. It's mad.”
Other tram users also took to social media in the wake of the crash which left more than 50 people injured.
One described the journey as often feeling like a “roller coaster”.
Jennifer Charlotte Saul wrote on Facebook: “I always feel unsafe on the tram between Lloyd park and sandilands. The speeds they get up to on that stretch is insane.”
@ITS_ESEOSA wrote: “I've always hated that corner in sandilands. How can you do 40mph on a corner that is meant for 12mph.”
BTP has said it will investigate the earlier concerns from passengers.
It comes as the family of a mum-of-three said they had been "ripped apart" amid fears she is one of the seven victims of the crash.
Dorota Rynkiewicz, 35, was on her daily commute to Euston when the tram derailed at high speeds.
Grandfather Philip Seary, 57, died on his way to work when the tram careered off the tracks.
He was one of the last passengers to be released from the wreckage following a five-hour operation by specialist rescue crews.
Teen football fan Dane Chinnery, 19, was named as the first victim of the Croydon tram crash.
Friends and family paid tribute to the Crystal Palace fan as it emerged a young child is also thought to be among the victims.
More than 50 people were injured when the tram crashed just after 6am in east Croydon on Wednesday morning.
The driver, a 42-year-old man from Beckenham, was freed on conditional police bail.
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