Police investigators are still trying to establish what caused a tram derailment that killed six men and one woman people and injured 51 near Croydon, south London, on Wednesday, as the names of more of the victims emerged.
One of the victims, 19-year-old Dane Chinnery, was named on Thursday. On Friday, two other people believed to be on the tram were reported to be still missing. Dorota Rynkiewicz, 35, who has a husband and two daughters, aged five and seven, has not been heard from since she left for work on Wednesday morning.
Devastated relatives told the Evening Standard the couple had moved to the UK from Poland 10 years ago. They said that although her death had yet to be officially confirmed, more than two days after the crash they feared the worst.
Philip Seary, 57, is also missing. The father-of-three, an avid Crystal Palace fan, lived with his wife Vivian in New Addington. Friends left tributes on Facebook to the “most kind, giving person we’ll ever have in our lives”.
The tram appears to have come off the rails as it travelled too fast round a bend, where the speed limit was 12 miles an hour, shortly after 6am. Passengers said the driver, who was arrested after the crash, may have blacked out. Investigators said the tram was travelling at a significantly higher speed than is permitted and were considering whether the driver had fallen asleep.
They are also looking at claims from passengers that a tram almost came off the tracks in the same place last week. A spokeswoman for British transport police said officers were investigating the allegations that surfaced on Facebook after the crash, describing how an early-morning tram had taken the bend too fast on 31 October and braked hard.
Andy Nias, from Croydon, wrote on that date: “30 of us on the tram this morning and we all thought our time was up… tram driver took the hard corner to Sandilands at 40mph!! I swear the tram lifted on to one side. Everyone still shaking… it’s mad.”
James Tofield shared a message he had sent to his wife at the same time, describing how the tram driver had braked and narrowly managed to stay on the track, adding: “It was like a ride from Alton Towers.”
A police spokeswoman said: “We were only made aware of the report on social media yesterday and it’s now forming part of our inquiries.” She declined to discuss this or other lines of inquiry further because it was an active investigation.
The tram driver, a 42-year-old man from Beckenham, was released on bail after being arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. (Above news update was sourced from the Guardian & BBC News coverage.)
The unexpectedness of the crash has left many aStepFWD volunteers still in shock as Croydon houses one of our bases and travel connections including the tram are regularly used.
We stand united with those affected and ask you join us in praying for the injured and for the grieving families, as they begin to come to terms with this tragic loss of life.
