Driver cleared over 2016 London tram crash that killed seven

LONDON, United Kingdom - The driver of a London tram that crashed in 2016, killing seven people and seriously injuring 21, was on Monday cleared by a jury of failing to take "reasonable care".

Alfred Dorris, 49, was driving 69 passengers on Tram 2551 when it came off the tracks in Croydon, south London, and tipped over.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) safety regulator prosecuted Dorris for failing to take reasonable care of the health and safety of himself and his passengers.

But the jury at the Old Bailey court in central London deliberated for less than two hours before unanimously clearing him.

Dorris, from southeast London, was going three times faster than he should have been into a sharp corner at Sandilands in south London on the morning of Nov 9, 2016.

He said he became disorientated in a tunnel due to a combination of factors including poor lighting and signage, darkness and bad weather.

"I'm sorry that I became disorientated. And I'm deeply sorry I was not able to do anything to reorientate myself and stop the tram from turning over," he said during evidence.

Transport for London (TfL) and Tram Operations Limited (ToL) have previously admitted health and safety offences and will be sentenced at a later date.

Joe Collett, whose brother died in the derailment, said after that he was "very disappointed" by the outcome.

"He had done the journey several thousand times and this day (he) said he had a bad day -- but seven people had a worst day," he told reporters.

"I've got no real feelings against him because he didn't intend to do what happened."

London's only tram system, which opened in 2000, links several south London suburbs along 17 miles (28 kilometres) of track. - AFP