A TRAM driver wept today as he was cleared over a horror crash that killed seven people and injured 51 others.
Alfred Dorris, 49, was hurtling through Croydon, South London, at three times the speed limit when the tram toppled on its side.
Passengers were flung around as if “inside a washing machine” during the 2016 crash causing a "terrible death toll".
Dane Chinnery, 19, Philip Seary, 57, Dorota Rynkiewicz, 35, Robert Huxley, 63, Philip Logan, 52, Donald Collett, 62, and Mark Smith, 35, all died in the horror.
Dorris has now been cleared of a single charge of failing to take reasonable care at work under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
He had blamed his confusion at the time of the crash on a combination of external factors – including poor lighting and signage in the Sandilands tunnel complex, darkness and bad weather.
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The families of victims today branded the verdict, which came two hours after jurors were sent out, as "deflating".
The Old Bailey was told experienced driver Dorris was navigating a curve at 40mph – three times the 12mph speed limit – before he crashed.
The tram's wheels were lifted from the track causing it to derail and tip on its side as windows were smashed and door ripped off.
Those killed in the horror were ejected through the broken windows and trapped between the overturned tram and the track.
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A total of 51 people were injured – 19 seriously – after Tram 2551 derailed.
In the immediate aftermath, several passengers claimed Dorris' eyes were closed, with one yelling at him to "wake up".
The driver responded: "I must have passed out."
But Dorris later denied blacking out or falling asleep, despite sleep experts claiming his "disorientation" was "indicative of a micro sleep".
He instead claimed he was "confused" as to which direction he was travelling in and said the bend "just sort of crept up on me".
Dorris added: "I wouldn’t say it was a loss of concentration. I would say it was more something that I wasn’t in control of with regards to disorientation.”
In his evidence, the driver apologised to the families of the victims and told how he "collapsed" when he discovered people were trapped under the tram.
He added: "I woke up in the morning expecting to have a normal day. I did not leave with the intention of not driving with reasonable care for my passengers or myself.
“I’m a human being and sometimes as a human being things happen to you that you are not in control of. I’m sorry that I became disoriented.
“And I’m deeply sorry I was not able to do anything to reorient myself and stop the tram from turning over.”
Dorris, from Beckenham, South East London, denied a single charge of failing to take reasonable care at work under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Transport for London (TfL) and Tram Operations Limited (ToL) have previously admitted health and safety offences relating to significant failings ahead of the catastrophic derailment.
Speaking after the verdict, Danielle Wynne, whose grandad Philip Logan was killed in the crash, said "there has to be some kind of accountability".
She added: "A not guilty verdict to me is like someone stabbing me in the chest.
"It feels so deflating.
"If I got into my car and I did what he did at the speed that he did, then I would go to prison.
"My grandad and this incident will never be forgotten. It's a date that's etched into my mind.
"Our family feels truly let down by the justice system."
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