Truckie acquitted over Kerang rail crash

A truck driver cleared over a Victorian train crash that killed 11 people broke down
in tears before saying he was "so sorry" for the victim's families.
Christian Scholl, 50, sat quietly with his hands clasped as he was found not guilty
of 11 counts of culpable driving causing death and not guilty of the lesser charge
of dangerous driving causing death over the northern Victorian tragedy in 2007.
There were gasps and sobs as the Supreme Court jury read its verdict.
Mr Scholl cried when he stepped down from the dock, embracing his wife, Di.
Outside court, he said he would never forget the impact of that day.
"I'm relieved at the verdict of the jury and grateful for their attention to the
evidence," he said, reading from a prepared statement.
"Although this criminal case is now over I will never forget the impact of that day
on the lives of so many. My thoughts are with those families. I am so sorry."
The jury had heard Mr Scholl had crossed the crossing, north of Kerang, about 250
times on his weekly route from Wangaratta to Adelaide.
But on the day of the crash, on June 5, 2007, Mr Scholl said he was in the area an
hour and a half later than usual and he never saw the crossing warning lights flash.
"I assumed there wasn't going to be a train because I looked at the lights to my
right and they were not flashing, therefore I assumed there was no train coming," he
told the jury.
The crown argued Mr Scholl drove negligently and failed to keep a proper lookout.
But his lawyers blamed the crossing as a "time bomb" that had been the site of
several near misses.
They said train operator V/Line had told the Victorian government's former
department of infrastructure the crossing was dangerous 11 months before the tragedy
but nothing was done.
Mr Scholl said he was coming out of a road bend when he noticed traffic in the
opposite direction was slowing or had stopped before the crossing.
He said he only saw the Swan Hill to Melbourne V/Line train at the last moment and
stood on his brakes and steered to the left to avoid colliding.
He admitted there was nothing he could recall which obstructed his vision before the
crash.
Prosecutor Peter Rose SC suggested Mr Scholl tuned out after setting his
semi-trailer to cruise control at 102km/h.
However, the jury heard from the train driver and other truck drivers that the
crossing was dangerous.
Mr Scholl's lawyer Terry Forrest QC said several near misses had been recorded in
the months before the crash.
Mr Forrest said V/Line had referred its safety concerns to the Victorian
government's department of infrastructure but authorities failed to act.
He said it was scandalous the crossing was only upgraded after the tragedy.
Mr Scholl had pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of culpable driving causing death and
eight counts of negligently causing serious injury.
Justice Stephen Kaye commended the dignified way families involved in the case had
behaved during the two-week trial.
He also praised the jurors for their difficult role.
"It would be difficult to imagine cases more difficult than this," he said.
The victims' families did not comment after the verdict.