Mother of tram crash victim ‘more distraught’ at accidental death ruling than on the day son died

By Tara O’Connor, local democracy reporter

The mother of a man killed in the Croydon tram crash said she was more distraught hearing the ‘accidental death’ ruling than the day her son died.

Jean Smith, the mother of Mark Smith, sat through every day of the inquest at Croydon Town Hall and is coming to terms with the outcome – it was not the “unlawful killing” ruling that she and families of the other victims had hoped for.

Mark worked for a specialist glass installation company and was on his way to work in central London on the morning of November 9, 2016, when a tram derailed at the Sandilands Junction killing Mark and six other local people.

Mark was 35-years-old and had a son who was just 18-months-old when he died.

The families now want a new inquest and a judicial review into the coroner’s interpretation of the law which meant that the jury did not hear any oral evidence from Tram Operations London and TfL.

Jean, 64, said: “We’ve already been waiting four and half years for this, if we have to wait a long time again people here today might not be here any more.

“I was hoping that we would get the right outcome so we could actually put this away and get on with the rest of our lives as best we can without our loved ones.

“I have no energy left in me now but in a few weeks we will be ready to go again.

“The worst day ever was the day that Mark died, I don’t think anything will be as bad as that, but I think I was more distraught yesterday than when I heard about Mark’s death.”

After delays and a long wait for the inquest to start, the past four and a half years have been tough for the Jean, her husband Colin and daughter Stacey – who also attended the whole inquest.

Jean said: “You plod along with your life to be honest, but it’s always in the back of your mind, you organise your life around the fact the inquest could be coming up.

“So to get this result is hard. I am always calm and wanting to be the voice of reason, but yesterday I left the court room while the jury was still giving their narrative, I just couldn’t listen.

“I don’t want accidental death on my son’s death certificate.”

The driver of the tram, Alfred Dorris, was deemed unfit to appear at the inquest due to being diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

While he did not appear as a witness, the jury heard accounts of his actions after the incident, and the transcripts from police interviews.

Jean, like other surviving family members, is disappointed the driver did not give evidence in person.

She said: “All I keep hearing is that he has got PTSD but, no disrespect to him, what does he think we’ve all been going through for the past four years.

“I don’t think about Mr Dorris a lot, but I do hope that he is never, never, allowed to drive any vehicle that has any members of the public in it again.

“I don’t hate him but I feel bitter towards him, nothing he says or does would ever be enough for what he’s done to my Mark and what he’s done to our family.”

The Smiths still live in the area and if they were to get the tram to Croydon would have to go through the Sandilands tunnel.

Mrs Smith says she has only ridden the tram a few times since the death of her son but would never ride through the tunnel where the fatal incident took place.

“Every time I am drawn to the back of the tram where Mark was sitting, I find it very upsetting,” she added.

The tragic incident in 2016 also killed Dane Chinnery, 19, Philip Logan, 52, Philip Seary, 57, Dorota Rynkiewicz, 35, and Robert Huxley, 63, all from New Addington, and Donald Collett, 62, from Croydon all died that day.

The inquest started on May 17 at Croydon Town Hall.

In the jury’s narrative conclusion they said the driver lost awareness and became disorientated “probably due to a micro-sleep” as he approached the bend.