Andrew Doney, 22, of Moorside Drive, Ripon, pleaded guilty to endangering safety by driving across Oakwood Farm crossing and into the path of a passenger service travelling at 65mph. He was ordered to pay £300 costs, £85 victim surcharge and serve 150 hours unpaid work and undertake a 12-month community service order.

Doney was sentenced at York Crown Court on Monday 5 December.

The accident

The accident occurred in May last year. The court was told that the young man had not followed the correct procedures at the crossing in Flaxby. He opened the gate and drove across the tracks into the path of the oncoming Harrogate to York passenger’s service.

None of the 66 passengers or three staff were seriously injured in the incident. However, the train driver was unable to work for five and half months as a result of whiplash, back injuries and psychological trauma.

“It is astounding that no one was seriously injured or killed in this incident,” chief inspector Glen Alderson of British Transport Police said. “My thoughts are with the train driver who said driving past the crossing for the first time was ‘horrific’ for him and that he continues to suffer psychologically and emotionally in what must have been an extremely frightening experience for all involved.”

Alderson said that the railway and nearby roads had to be closed as a result of the crash, which cost Northern Rail £114,000 and a further £3,660 to Network Rail.

“We could so easily have had a far more serious incident on our hands, such as a derailment or multiple injuries,” he said.

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