A Luas driver has gone on trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for “impaling” his tram into a bus on O’Connell Street.
Oriyomi Emmanuel (39) of Jamestown Park, Ratoath, Co Meath has pleaded not guilty under the Railway Safety Act 2005 to the unsafe operation of a tram at the junction of Middle Abbey Street and O’Connell Street on September 16, 2009.
The jury viewed CCTV footage of the moment the tram collided with the centre of the Dublin Bus.
The bus driver gave evidence that after the crash, the front of the Luas was inside the bus at the wheelchair seating area. The driver told the court he had a green light to go through the junction when the Luas hit him.
A garda witness said the nose of the tram had penetrated the bus by “two to three feet” and that two ladies were trapped underneath.
Paul Bonney told Garnet Orange BL, prosecuting, that he was driving the number 16 bus south on O’Connell Street and was having an uneventful journey until he reached the Abbey Street junction. He said he had “plenty of passengers” and most of them were seated.
He said he drove the bus in a “normal, professional manner” at 25 to 30km/h and drove through the Abbey Street Junction as he “had a green light”. He said he saw the Luas coming towards the cab of the bus and accelerated forward to get out of the way.
“If I didn’t accelerate I wouldn’t be here today," he told Mr Orange.
He said he tried to avoid a collision but the Luas hit the middle of the bus at the wheelchair area. He said a number of people were injured including himself.
Sgt Brian Cullen was on traffic duty in the area when he responded to the crash. He said that when he got to the scene he saw the “walking wounded” being treated by emergency services. The Luas had “impaled” the bus and two women trapped under its nose were being tended to by rescue workers.
He said he spoke to the bus driver who was bleeding from the head.
The driver told him immediately: “I had a green light.”
Sgt Cullen said he then found Mr Emmanuel who was also injured and receiving medical treatment. He said he collected CCTV footage from the area and took the details of passengers on both vehicles.
George Doyle was driving another Luas in the opposite direction and was waiting at the lights at the other end of the junction. He said he was stopped there for about thirty seconds and that the junction “looked clear to me” when he saw the other tram begin to move.
Mr Doyle said he did not have a go signal for his tram and agreed with Mr Orange that most of the time both trams at a junction get a go signal at the same time. However he added that it was “not unusual” for only one to get the signal.
He agreed that there are no circumstances when it is permissible to move without a go signal unless the traffic lights are out of action. In that situation “the rules of the road” apply, he said.
Mr Doyle said that after the crash he radioed headquarters and then went over to assist. He said he noticed that a handle in Mr Emmanuel’s cab was all the way down, indicating the emergency brake was engaged.
Mr Doyle said he knew Mr Emmanuel from the staff canteen.
The trial continues before Judge Mary Ellen Ring and a jury of eight men and four women.