Kevin Hague, the lorry driver whose vehicle collided with Stagecoach Supertram tram-train 399 204 on the first day of public services to Rotherham Parkgate, has been fined after admitting to driving through a red light. A second charge of careless driving was dismissed after prosecutors offered no evidence.
Mr Hague, 61 and from Rotherham, was fined £250 and given three penalty points at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court for the offence. As we reported at the time the collision happened when he drove his lorry through a red light at a road crossing located between Attercliffe and Woodbourn Road tramstops on 25th October 2018. The impact of the collision caused 399 204 to derail but it remained upright and fortunately no serious injuries were reported as a result with approximately 80 persons on board.
In the court hearing the driver of the tram was reported as saying that he feared if it had been a conventional tram rather than one of the tram-trains there may have been more serious injuries or even fatalities.
399 204 remains out of service with the damaged sections sent away to Spain for repairs along with the damaged sections of 399 202 which was also involved in a collision a few weeks later. The undamaged sections of the tram Citylink vehicles were paired together and are currently running under the number 399 202.