Bus driver charged over Croydon death crash with tram

The bus driver involved in the Croydon town centre crash with a tram which killed a man last summer has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving.

Raouf Mraidi, 29, was driving the 468 bus which passenger Andrzej Karcz was on when he was thrown out of a top deck window by the impact of the collision.

Mraidi, from Rotherhithe, was charged this afternoon (Monday) and has been released on bail.

He will appear again at Croydon Crown Court on May 22.

Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk

myprint-247

View details

Print voucher

Our heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.

Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk

Contact: 01858 468192

Valid until: Sunday, June 30 2013

Polish national Mr Karcz, 28, was thrown from the window and into the path of the bus by the crash at the junction of Park Lane and George Street.

The bus then careered along George Street damaging shops before coming to a halt.

Last month a Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) report confirmed the bus driver did jump a red light just before crashing into the tram on the morning of September 7 last year.

But the report added that this could have been because traffic lights at the other side of the junction, visible because of a damaged casing, had just turned green, confusing the driver.

Mr Karcz's wife Edyta tragically saw the aftermath of the accident on her way to work, unaware it had claimed her husband's life.

She had to change buses because of the crash, but the shop assistant quickly continued on her way to Thornton Heath because she was late.

At the time Edyta, 27, lived with her husband in Brighton Road, South Croydon, with his sister, Justina Frankowicz, 22.

The couple had been married for three years and she only came to the country two months before the crash. He had come over to the country last February.

After the crash Mraidi himself was taken to St George's Hospital, in Tooting, with a head injury, and was later arrested.

A police source said the driver passed out on impact which is why he couldn't stop the bus careering down George Street and ploughing into a parked BMW.

A firefighter from Croydon Fire Station told the Advertiser at the time that Mraidi was asking how his passengers were in the minutes after the crash.

He also said the female tram driver had tried to get out of the cab, but collapsed when she reached the first passenger seat.

She was treated in hospital, as were five other people who suffered minor injuries.