Louis Hughes drove into the York level crossing as the train approached

Immediately after the passenger train passed, Louis Hughes, 40, pushed aside the wreckage of the level crossing barrier and, with the level crossing’s red lights still flashing warning of danger, drove his truck over the level crossing and away, Phil said Morris. Prosecution.

Through Hughes’ actions, the level crossing at Millfield Lane on the outskirts of York was closed to both trains and cars.

Find out more about the nature of the problems that arise when the Millfield Lane level crossing is out of service.

Today Hughes is unemployed, banned from the streets and on a suspended sentence.

He must bear the full cost of restoring the level crossing. He lives on Universal Credit.

“Their ride didn’t last long, but it involved a deliberate disregard for the safety of others,” District Judge Adrian Lower told Hughes.

“First you go through the barrier when a train comes. Fortunately, there was no collision with the train, the consequences of which would have been catastrophic for you, the passengers and the train driver.

“Then you’re making things worse.

“You wouldn’t have guessed that there might be another train coming. You took that risk. Passing through the crossing, you could easily have been hit by another train, with all that might entail.

“You ran the risk of leaving your large family without a father. It was very selfish and very stupid,” the judge said.

Hughes, of Holyhead Close, Warrington, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving at Millfield Lane level crossing on March 17, 2022.

He was sentenced to 20 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months on condition that he do 150 hours of unpaid work.

He was also given a two-year driving ban and must complete an extended driving test before he can drive alone again. He must pay £1,423 in compensation to Network Rail.

Mr Morris said the red lights flashed for at least 30 seconds before the barrier was lowered and the barrier fell as Hughes drove in.

The level crossing was out of service for 58 minutes.

His attorney, Vicky Balinski, said Hughes would have trouble getting a truck license in the future. He had been a truck driver for seven years, driving 2,500 miles a week and had no penalty points or prior driving record.

He was driving at 8 mph when he hit the guardrail and had misjudged the distance to the guardrail. His actions after the collision were based “from practical considerations of what to do immediately and not from thinking about the risk of what he was doing and what could have happened”.

Hughes checked before crossing the platform that there was no second train on the way, she said.

He had tried unsuccessfully to contact British Transport Police immediately after the incident and reported the incident to his employer.