Off the rails

By Michael Esposito

THE paramedic who led the medical response team at the site of a train crash in Craigieburn last Tuesday night says it was lucky there were no deaths.

Whittlesea Ambulance team manager Stephen Moody and his crew spent all night treating passengers and the driver of the passenger train, which struck an almost stationary goods train about 1.5km from the Craigieburn station heading towards Roxburgh Park.

“It was a lucky accident that we only had five patients that were injured, and none of them are life threatening,” he said.

“The train had hit the stationary train so hard that the interconnecting carriages actually joined together. The front driving compartment was actually pushed in by a metre.

“It could have been a lot worse if the train had have been express or travelling a lot faster, it’s lucky the driver got out and walked away. He only had lacerations, but he could have been trapped and killed.”

Mr Moody said five people were sent to hospital, including the 45-year-old driver and a 15-year-old girl.

“Most were suffering from suspected spinal injuries, lacerations and minor chest injuries.”

Mr Moody said most of the 15 passengers were standing because the train was approaching its last stop, causing passengers to be flung through the air when the train crashed and derailed.

Member for the Western Metropolitan Region Bernie Finn said in parliament last week that he expected the government to take care of the injured passengers’ medical expenses.

“I ask the Minister (for Public Transport Martin Pakula) to guarantee victims of the Craigieburn crash…will be properly supported by the government to ensure that they suffer no financial loss as a result of the injuries they have had inflicted upon them.”