Spain: train driver held by police for ‘reckless manslaughter’

The driver of a Spanish train that derailed at high speed is being held by police, accused of reckless manslaughter. Seventy eight people died. Driver Francisco José Garzon, who was slightly wounded, has been discharged from hospital and transferred to a police station. Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernández Díaz explained: “He’s there (with police) because he’s left hospital. He’s currently under arrest, accused of involuntary manslaughter through recklessness.” The eight-carriage train Garzon was driving left the tracks and slammed into a concrete wall on the outskirts of Santiago de Compostela on July 24. Retired army captain Santiago Gonzalez was traveling in the second carriage. He suffered head and leg wounds and broke a rib. Despite his injuries, he went back to the train after being rescued to help save other passengers. Speaking in hospital where he is still undergoing treatment, Gonzalez said, “I could see people in there – sometimes just their heads showing through, only their crying eyes and silent expressions saying “get me out of here’.” “We succeeded in pulling someone out of the back of the wagon. We back into the train again and took another…and then another…and another,” Gonzalez continued. Seventy one people remain in hospital, 31 of them in a serious condition. Source: Euronews.com