By CASEY NEILL
A TRUCK driver will spend up to five years in jail over a fatal Dandenong South train crash.
Supreme Court of Victoria Justice Lex Lasry on 18 December sentenced Melville Bollen, 71, to five years in jail, with a minimum two years and six months, over the 3 November 2012 incident at Abbotts Road.
Bollen, formerly of Narre Warren North, drove his semi-trailer through lowered boom gates and collided with the six-carriage Cranbourne-bound train about 11.40am.
Cranbourne West man David Cron, 43, died from head and chest injuries at the scene and four other passengers were injured.
Train driver Trevor King suffered a brain injury and fractures to his ribs, hands and feet.
Victim impact statements indicated that other passengers now feared using public transport and had increased anxiety about bad things happening to them or their family, flashbacks and nightmares.
Bollen pleaded guilty to culpable driving and multiple charges of negligently causing serious injury.
He’d been a professional driver for almost 50 years and was not speeding at the time of the crash.
“For the whole of your working life, your attitude to your driving has been responsible,” Justice Lasry said.
Witnesses said Bollen was looking downwards as he approached the crossing, looked up and realised the situation at the last moment, and tried to brake and steer around the boom gates.
“The fact that you were distracted for as long as 19 seconds naturally makes this a very serious offence,” Justice Lasry said.
“It is certain you were not paying anywhere near the attention to your driving that you should have been.”
He said he was confident that Bollen would “live a law-abiding life once you are released”.
Justice Lasry also cancelled his licence and disqualified him from obtaining a licence for five years.
