The driver was tried this Thursday for an alleged crime of serious negligence and faces a possible sentence of 15 months in prison
Who is to blame for a Barcelona metro passenger being confined to a wheelchair since a train dragged her away when she was trapped by the door of a wagon? He machinist did you save the traveler’s life or were you negligent? Was the woman reckless in ignoring the door closing beep or victim of a chain of errors? The driver was tried this Thursday for an alleged crime of imprudence serious and faces a possible sentence of 15 months of prisonas well as the payment of a compensation that the accusation exercised by the wound rises to about 460,000 euros. The defendant has indicated that the vision that the control systems offered him was deficient when the incident occurred. accident in July 2015 at the bus stop Vall d’Hebronof the line 5 from the suburban
“It happened in the central area of the train, the worst visibility& rdquor ;, the driver has illustrated to the court. The defendant has argued that the rear-view mirror of the station does not reveal the entire platform. “There are other larger ones and at a shorter distance. This is small and, from my position, I only see the line of doors & rdquor ;, she has alleged.
The cockpit has two monitors that reproduce the images of a camera front and rear of the convoy. “The resolution is quite bad,” the operator of Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) has described. He has added that, since the event occurred, there has been “more emphasis & rdquor; to the company’s technicians to improve the reproduction of the screens. Anyway, he has said that he is a flaw that “it has always been commented & rdquor; inside of company.
Employees of TMB that have testified have agreed that the quality of the monitors is not accurate and that the mirrors on the platforms do not offer a complete vision. “Not everyone is in the same position They don’t have the same viewing angle. Sometimes, a blow with a backpack can move them or someone touches them to paint their lips”, exemplified a driver.
“I can’t see a hand at 60 meters”
The prosecuted driver has indicated that, when restarting the march, the security system notified that the doors were closed. He stressed that he did not see the complainant introduce the hand through a loophole to hold the door open. “From my position, I have no vision of the platform, but of the line of doors through the mirror. I couldn’t see if he was going to the door. Visibility is what it is. I am not a magician, I cannot see a hand or a finger 60 meters from me & rdquor ;, she has excused herself.
He has also recounted that, through the monitor, he appreciated “a stain” stuck to the convoy, already moving and not distinguishing that it was a person. “At that time, I stopped the train. The image was very blurry. I saw something strange and I always say that, in that case, first stop and then ask & rdquor ;, the worker, who has been on the metro network since 2005, has confessed.
Company officials have stated that the driver was never filed. Even more, they have highlighted that the episode in question is cited in the instruction sessions as a model to avoid a fatal accident. “The performance was perfect, a 10”, praised the director of line operations for TMB. In turn, the driver and several company witnesses have reiterated that there is no training specific on safety in passenger boarding or a protocol, beyond generic indications.
“I thought it would open up”
For her part, the complainant, Núria Carrera, has declared that her memory has barely retained the mishap, after which she spent some two years full of interventions. “I only remember that she was going to enter, that she was whistling and that I put my right arm & rdquor ;, he has recognized her.
The person affected has expressed that she was confident that the door would open. “I had seen. If you put a hand, an arm or a leg when they close, the doors open & rdquor ;, Carrera has defended, who has said he is unaware that the acoustic signals indicate that entering or leaving the carriage is prohibited. She has apostilled that she has not seen posters let them warn you on the platforms. TMB managers have revealed that, in the last three years, 38 cases of entrapment have been recorded in the last three years, 11 involving people. “It also happens with straps and crutches, which have grown a lot,” they have pointed out.
The wagon grabbed the woman at the height of the doll. The director of the metro’s maintenance and projects area has detailed that the doors are configured to reopen “when they detect an obstacle 25 millimeters wide by 60 millimeters high & rdquor; and they are “of a certain shape and roughness & rdquor ;. An expert report specifies that the victim’s wrist measures 34 centimeters, well above the assumptions in which the safety spring jumps. The defendant’s defense and that of those who appear as subsidiary civil culprits -TMB and the insurance company- have maintained that the woman was carrying a mobile, that could cause her to be imprisoned. The complainant has not remembered if she had the phone in her hand. The Prosecutor’s Office has appreciated that, beyond the possible recklessness of the traveler, the driver’s actions were “somewhat reckless”. He has also cataloged “defective” the safety mechanism of the wagon doors. The prosecution has placed the blame on the driver, whom he blamed for starting too fast. He has also reproached him that, since he has stated that he lacked visibility, he did not get off the train to check that there was no risk before starting off.
Instead, the defense lawyers have indicated that the senselessness committed it to the complainant by neglecting the door closing alarm, for which reason they have questioned the compensation that requests. If the defendant is not acquitted, they have requested that the sentence be lowered for delays in the judicial process.