The truck driver involved in a train crash that killed 11 people, including New Zealander Nick Parker, at a country Victorian rail crossing has been acquitted.
Christian Scholl, 50, was driving a semi-trailer that ploughed into a Melbourne-bound V/Line passenger train at a rail crossing north of Kerang on June 5, 2007.
He had pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of culpable driving causing death and eight counts of negligently causing serious injury.
Today a Supreme Court jury cleared him of the culpable driving charges and also found him not guilty of the lesser charge of dangerous driving causing death.
During the two-week trial, the jury heard Scholl saw the crossing warning lights but thought it was safe to cross because they weren't flashing.
The crown argued Scholl drove negligently and failed to keep a proper lookout.
But the defence said the crossing was dangerous and had been the site of several near misses.
There were gasps in the courtroom as the verdict was read and some families of the victims sobbed.
After the judge left the courtroom, Scholl stepped down from the dock and broke down crying.
He then embraced his wife.
Justice Stephen Kaye commended the dignified way the families involved in the case had behaved during the trial.
He also praised the jurors for their difficult role.
"It would be difficult to imagine cases more difficult than this," he said.
He said the jurors had handled their heavy responsibilities well during a stressful case and told them counselling would be available if needed.
During the trial, Mr Scholl told the jury he did not see the crossing warning lights flash from a distance of 300 metres and believed it was safe to cross.
"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 said.
Mr Scholl said he knew the crossing well, having passed it about 250 times during his weekly route from Wangarratta to Adelaide.
He said he had never seen a train pass through but on the day he crashed into a Swan Hill to Melbourne passenger train in June 2007 he was in the area an hour-and-a-half later than usual.
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 immediately looked to his left and saw the train and stood on his brakes.
He then steered his Kenworth prime mover left into a gully in front of the rail tracks to avoid collision.
Prosecutor Peter Rose SC said Mr Scholl was grossly negligent in the way he drove his vehicle and should have been paying more attention.
Under cross examination from Mr Rose, Mr Scholl denied he failed to see the train because he was not keeping a proper lookout.
He also denied tuning out after setting his semi-trailer to cruise control at about the 100kmh speed limit.
Mr Scholl said it was a bright sunny day on the day of the crash and there was no problem he could recall which obstructed his vision.
"I can't think of any reason why I did not see the train or flashing lights," he said.
However, the jury heard evidence from the train driver and other truck drivers that the crossing had a reputation for being dangerous.
Mr Scholl's lawyer, Terry Forrest QC, labelled it a "timebomb" that had recorded several near misses in the year before the fatal crash.
Mr Forrest said V/Line had referred the 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.
