Last Friday, 7th July, the driver of a London Overground train that derailed after he fell asleep while driving was sentenced to sixteen weeks in prison.

After an investigation by British Transport Police and a successful prosecution, at Inner London Crown Court, Erkan Mehmet, aged 44 of Middle Street in Waltham Abbey, pleaded guilty to endangering the safety of the railway.

The derailment occurred on 12th October 2021 whilst Mehmet was driving a London Overground train to Enfield Town.

As the train entered platform two at Enfield Town station, it failed to stop and crashed into the buffers resulting in derailment of the front carriage. Pictures from the scene show that the carriage came completely off the tracks and was wedged at an angle about five feet in the air.

On board the train at the time were approximately 50 passengers, a small number of whom received minor injuries and shock.

As is normal practice, Mehmet was breathalysed at the scene and gave a negative reading. However, a urine sample was also taken at the same time that showed the presence of cocaine in his system with a reading of 1,250 ng/mL. For the cocaine to be revealed by the urine test, it is probable that it entered Mehmet’s system in the 24-hour period before the incident.

Following the positive results of the urine test, BTP officers arrested Mehmet on 26 October and took him into police custody for questioning.

Mehmet claimed in his interview with detectives that he had never taken drugs in his life and had fallen asleep while driving after only having a couple of hours of sleep the night before.

Detective Constable Gemma Littlewood said: “Train drivers are entrusted with the safety of every passenger onboard so it is frankly unthinkable that Mehmet turned up to work in a condition which left him falling asleep at the wheel, putting them all in significant danger. It is only through luck that nobody was seriously injured or worse, killed, as a result of his actions that day.

“Investigators have worked closely with Arriva Rail London, who fully supported the investigation, to ensure he has been brought before the courts to face justice and while incidents like this are rare, we will continue to relentlessly investigate anyone suspected of putting passengers in danger and hold them to account.”

Paul Hutchings, managing director at Arriva Rail London, said: “We take the safety and security of our customers and colleagues incredibly seriously. We have a zero-tolerance policy for drugs and alcohol, which exceeds industry standards, and the driver involved was immediately suspended following the incident and subsequently dismissed after returning a positive test result.”