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15
Jan
Man admits endangering safety after Knaresborough railway station crash
A man has admitted endangering safety and driving without due care and attention after a van crashed into a level crossing at Knaresborough railway station.
Jody Lovatt, 49, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court today (January 15) where he spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address.
Lovatt, of Mowbray Crescent in Kirkby Malzeard, pleaded guilty to both offences, which happened on July 10 last year.
Sarah Tyrer, prosecuting, told the court that the 49-year-old was driving along Kirkgate in Knaresborough on the morning of the crash.
Ms Tyrer said Lovatt’s Vauxhall Combo van broke down and he tried to push it onto nearby Finkle Street.
However, the court heard that the van “ran down the road” and crashed into the gate of the level crossing before hitting the wall of the signal box, which was damaged following the crash.
Ms Tyrer said:
The crash caused a great deal of damage. Between 6am and 11.28am, train services were cancelled.
The court heard that the cancellations cost Network Rail £16,147 and the damage to the gate of the level crossing cost £6,313.
Nine train services were fully cancelled, 14 were partially cancelled and 11 were delayed due to the incident at the time.
Ms Tyrer said that when police attended the scene, Lovatt “struggled to recollect” how the van rolled down the road.
He initially said that his dog had “done a runner” and that his handbrake was on, the court heard.
The van crashed into the signal box.
However, CCTV footage from Knaresborough Working Men’s Club on Kirkgate, which was played in court, showed that Lovatt had tried to push the van onto Finkle Street before his dog got out of the vehicle on a lead.
Lovatt then gets back in the van, Ms Tyrer said, before brake lights flash and he jumps out and the van “rolls down the hill”.
Ms Tyrer added that the defendant had tried to stop the van rolling, but had to jump out of the way.
The prosecution told the court that it was later established that there was no problem with the handbrake.
Ms Tyrer said:
It is an act of negligence or incompetence rather than malicious.
‘He was trying to do the right thing'
Brian Nuttney, defending, told magistrates that it was an “unusual offence in unusual circumstances”.
Mr Nuttney said that Lovatt, who ran his own business, was “remorseful for what happened”.
He added:
It was not a deliberate act. His first concern was that it [the van] was in the way and it needs to be moved and that is what he tried to do.
There was also a momentary lapse while he tried to get the dog in the van. He was mortified.
Mr Nuttney said that Lovatt conceded that he should have waited for assistance for the van, but added that “he was trying to do the right thing”.
He said the defendant had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and had no previous convictions.
Magistrates adjourned the case until January 28 where Lovatt will appear at York Magistrates Court.
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