Driver who derailed Overground train at Enfield Town jailed

Erkan Mehmet, 44, and of Middle Street, Waltham Abbey, pleaded guilty to endangering the safety of the railway at Inner London Crown Court.

A judge today (July 7) sentenced him to 16 weeks in prison.

On October 12, 2021, Mehmet was driving a London Overground train to Enfield Town. As the train entered platform two, it failed to stop and crashed into the buffers causing the front carriage to derail.

Picture showing the carriage smashed into buffers and off the tracks (Image: PA Media)

Pictures from the scene show the carriage came completely off the tracks and stuck approximately five feet in the air.

Around 50 passengers were on board. A small number reported minor injuries and shock.

Mehmet was breathalysed at the scene and blew negative, but a urine sample showed a presence of cocaine in his system at the time with a reading of 1,250 ng/mL.

For cocaine to be present in a urine test it most likely entered his system in the 24 hour period before the incident.

Following the test results, Mehmet was arrested by British Transport Police officers on October 26 and taken into custody for questioning.

Damage to the front carriage after a London Overground derailed at Enfield Town station. Driver Erkan Mehmet has been jailed. (Image: BTP)

In his interview he claimed to detectives he had never taken drugs in his life and had fallen asleep at the wheel after only having a couple of hours sleep the night before.

Detective Constable Gemma Littlewood said: “Train drivers are entrusted with the safety of every passenger onboard so it is frankly unthinkable that Mehmet turned up to work in a condition which left him falling asleep at the wheel, putting them all in significant danger.

"It is only through luck that nobody was seriously injured or worse, killed, as a result of his actions that day."

Paul Hutchings, managing director at Arriva Rail London, said: "We take the safety and security of our customers and colleagues incredibly seriously.

"We have a zero-tolerance policy for drugs and alcohol, which exceeds industry standards, and the driver involved was immediately suspended following the incident and subsequently dismissed after returning a positive test result."