Crash probe focuses on car driver

Police say they are not making assumptions about the crash

Investigators are focusing on evidence suggesting a car driver committing suicide caused a rail crash that killed seven people on Saturday.

The driver was among those killed when a train hit his car at a level crossing near Ufton Nervet, Berkshire.

Police say they will examine the silver Mazda to see if there may be any other reasons why it stopped on the crossing.

Meanwhile, a crane has been built near the crash site and work to clean up the wreckage has begun.

British Transport Police said officers were removing property belonging to passengers and others from the scene before the heavy lifting work could begin to remove the train's eight carriages and power cars.

This was likely to start on Tuesday, the force said in a statement.

Policeman's 'plea'

Police have confirmed an off-duty policeman saw the car drive onto the crossing while the barriers were up, then saw them close with the vehicle still on the track.

He tried to alert the emergency services but was unable to stop the First Great Western train smashing into the stationary car and derailing.

Six people, including the train driver and the car driver were killed in the crash and the seventh died in hospital on Sunday.

Some newspapers have reported that the officer had a conversation with the driver of the car before it was hit by the train, pleading with him to save his life.

BERKSHIRE CRASH See how the crash happened

The Daily Express said the officer yelled at the young driver to "get out of the car now!"

But the man is thought to have replied: "No. Leave me alone. I want to die," the paper added.

The Daily Mail has reported that another witness, Mark Penston, spoke to the officer after the crash.

"The policeman said he had seen the car stop on the line. He said it was a suicide," Mr Penston told the paper.

However, Det Chief Constable Andy Trotter, of British Transport Police, said the officer's statement did not include any mention of a conversation between him and the driver of the car.

Speaking about the suicide theory, he said: "We never jump to conclusions, but obviously this is a major line of inquiry when you get such unusual behaviour.

"We won't make any assumptions. One of the reasons why we're going to examine the motor vehicle in such detail is to see if there are any other explanations for what might have happened."

LEVEL CROSSING DEATHS 2003/4: 18 2002/3: 13 2001/2: 12 2000/1: 9 1999/0: 13 1998/9: 12 1997/8: 13 1996/7: 3 1995/6: 11 1994/5: 12 Source: HSE rail safety report Trains safer than cars and planes

He said officers had not yet spoken to the car driver's family.

He said the off-duty officer had had only a matter of seconds to act and had done "extremely well in the circumstances".

He added that it was "quite remarkable so many people managed to escape from such an awful event".

The 1735 First Great Western service from London Paddington to Plymouth collided with the car on the track between Newbury and Reading at about 1815 GMT. About 71 people were injured.

Of these, six were seriously hurt and 13 more were kept in for treatment at the Royal Berkshire and Basingstoke hospitals.

The crash is being investigated by British Transport Police and the Health and Safety Executive, with help from Thames Valley Police.

Another person was killed by a train in a separate incident in Berkshire on Sunday, according to British Transport Police.

A First Great Western train had hit someone standing on the tracks at Dolphin Junction between Slough and Langley shortly after 2300 GMT, a spokesman said.

The driver reportedly saw the person but was unable to stop.