Selby rail crash

Selby rail crash
An InterCity 225 led by a Driving Van Trailer (top) and a Class 66 locomotive (bottom), similar to those involved in the crash.
Details
Date	28 February 2001 06:13 UTC
Location	Great Heck, Selby, North Yorkshire
Coordinates	53°41′14″N 1°05′53″W / 53.68722°N 1.09806°W / 53.68722; -1.09806
Country	England
Line	East Coast Main Line
Operator	Great North Eastern Railway Freightliner
Service	04:45 Newcastle to London King's Cross 05:00 Immingham Docks to Eggborough power station
Cause	Obstruction on line
Statistics
Trains	2
Vehicles	1
Deaths	10
Injured	82
List of UK rail accidents by year

The Selby rail crash (also known as the Great Heck Rail Crash) was a railway accident that occurred on 28 February 2001 near Great Heck, Selby, North Yorkshire when a passenger train collided with a car which had crashed down a motorway embankment onto the railway line. The passenger train then collided with an oncoming freight train. Ten people died, including the drivers of the two trains, and 82 were injured. It remains the worst rail disaster of the 21st century in the United Kingdom.

The driver of the car, Gary Hart, was convicted of ten counts of causing death by dangerous driving and sentenced to five years in prison after a jury found that he had fallen asleep while driving. As a result of the crash, Hart's insurers paid out £30 million in claims.