Katherine truck driver sentenced over ‘catastrophic’ 2023 train crash that injured two men

A Northern Territory truck driver who collided with a train at a railway crossing near Katherine has been sentenced to 150 hours of community service more than three years after the horror crash.

Christopher Berto pleaded guilty in the Darwin Local Court last month to two counts of careless driving causing serious harm over the collision that injured two train drivers in June 2023.

The 37-year-old Katherine man returned to court for sentencing today, supported by a large group of family members, and with a number of the victims’ relatives also present.

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The court heard Berto was carrying 22 tonnes of gravel in a prime mover when the truck collided with the train, derailing several carriages.

Judge Steven Ledek said Berto failed to notice multiple warning signs indicating a train was approaching, including flashing lights, gongs and the train’s horn, before attempting to brake 100 metres before reaching the crossing.

“It was at that point that he slammed on his brakes, having realised there was a train on the tracks and was coming through the crossing,” he said.

Judge Ledek said Berto was unable to stop the truck and instead accelerated through the crossing, crashing through the lowered boom gates and into the train.

“The impact was catastrophic,” he said.

The court heard one of the two injured men required surgery on his wrist as a result of the crash, while the other suffered ongoing back pain and was forced to give up his job as a train driver.

‘No good reason’ to miss warning signs

The judge said Berto had previously visited the crossing seven times on the morning of the accident.

“There is no good reason that a person could avoid all those alarms, gongs, signs and lights unless of course that person has become so familiar with the routine that they become less important and less instructive,” he said.

In a letter of apology to the victims, which the judge read aloud in court, Berto said he held “deep regret” for his actions.

“There are no words which could adequately express how sorry I am for the pain, hardship and disruption I have caused,” he wrote.

“I think often about what happened and the consequences you have had to endure because of these actions.

“While I cannot change what happened, I want you to know I accept responsibility and am genuinely sorry for the harm I have caused.”

Prosecutor Rhiannon McGlinn previously told the court she would not ask for Berto, who had a spotless driving record and was not speeding at the time of the crash, to be disqualified from driving.

In sentencing Berto to a two-week intensive community corrections order today, Judge Ledek said a custodial sentence was warranted due to the seriousness of the crash.

But he said given his good character and the unlikelihood of him reoffending, it would be appropriate for him to serve his sentence in the community.