FGW HST hit by extinguisher

[plymothian]

thrown from another train!

http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/P...dow-Reckless/story-12861445-detail/story.html

 

[HST Power]

Idiots.

Completely and utterly stupid.

When they find whoever did it, they should ban them from the railway for life, give them a whacking great fine and lock them in a prison for a long and difficult sentence.

 

[AlterEgo]

I hope the driver is OK - something like that would shake me up pretty badly.

 

[deltic1989]

Another classic case of people not thinking about the consiquences of their actions. As the report says its damn lucky no one was killed or hurt. I wonder if the extinguisher tosser was drunk? Or just a total muffin.

 

[SouthEastern-465]

Imagine if that had gone through the window.

I would happy enough turn up at the idiots house and throw a fire extinguisher through there window, lets see how they like it. :mad:

 

[GNER 373]

I hope this senseless idiotic thug is charged with attempted murder! After all if that extinguisher had hit the driver it could have killed him! That's before the actual damage to the train, lost revenue, passenger safety and personal time, the list goes on! Seriously what goes through people's minds when they do this stuff! I hope the person responsible is hammered by the courts! It would deter other stupid people not to risk the lives of themselves and the hundreds of people affected by this act of utter senselessness!

 

[HST Power]

It's a repeat of what happened during the student protests, with one so called 'future hope of our country' chucking an extinguisher off a building. Only this time, it's with the railway,

Lets hope the courts hammer him hard.

I wish the driver a speedy recovery.

 

[deltic1989]

It seems like the idiots that hang bricks off bridges have taken their senseless activity one step further.

 

[First class]

The problem here is:

a) It is BTP investigating
b) Even if BTP find the offender (doubtful!) they will likely only charge with Criminal Damage rather than Reckless Endangerment (of Life).

If I was the officer I would be looking to arrest for a range of things:

1) Section 32 & 34 Offences against the person Act 1861
2) Section 17 Railway Regulation Act 1842
3) Section 35 & 36 Malicious Damage Act 1861
4) Common Assault (the driver was injured by way of shock) (although it could go to things like attempted murder if intent etc etc).

Would personally opt for Section 35 of Malicious Damage Act 1861 which allows life imprisonment:

Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously cut, place, cast, or throw upon or across any railway any wood, stone, or other matter or thing, or shall unlawfully and maliciously take up, remove, or displace any rail, sleeper, or other matter or thing belonging to any railway, or shall unlawfully and maliciously turn, move, or divert any points or other machinery belonging to any railway, or shall unlawfully and maliciously make or show, hide or remove, any signal or light upon or near to any railway, or shall unlawfully and maliciously do or cause to be done any other matter or thing, with intent, in any of the cases aforesaid, to obstruct, upset, overthrow, injure, or destroy any engine, tender, carriage, or truck using such railway, shall be guilty of felony, and being convicted thereof shall be liable, at the discretion of the court, to be kept in penal servitude for life . . . or to be imprisoned . .

 

[BestWestern]

This also demonstrates the importance if having operational CCTV fitted to all trains as a matter of course, something which FGW somewhat bizarrely opted not to do during it's HST refurb. Had it been fitted the offender(s) would have been caught on film and an appeal could have been made with some chance of success. Alas, with no such evidence I suspect this particular barrel-scraping of society will get away with it.