UK: Rail victim's son to drive trains

[John Ashworth]

Rail victim's son to drive trains

Page last updated at 12:52 GMT, Monday, 17 August 2009 13:52 UK
BBC

The son of a train driver killed in the Selby rail tragedy is to become a rail driver himself.

James Dunn, 18, from Nomansland, Wiltshire, was only nine-years-old when his father Steve, 39, and nine others were killed in the accident.

Mr Dunn's mother, Mary, said James had "always been interested in the railway" and that "his dad would have been thrilled" over his son's career choice.

Mr Dunn begins his training in London next month, his mother said.

She added that his father's death had made James "even more determined" to work with trains.

The tragedy at Great Heck near Selby, North Yorkshire, occurred when a Land Rover driven by Gary Hart veered off the M62 and onto the rail line after he fell asleep at the wheel in February 2001.

This caused a 125mph London express train and a 1,800-tonne freight train, driven by Steve Dunn, to collide, killing six passengers and four railway staff.