‘Idiotic’ motorist drove car half a mile along railway tracks before abandoning car on line

A driver who was caught on CCTV driving his car along a railway track at a train station has been jailed for 15 months.

Aaron O’Halloran, 31, caused £23,000 worth of damage and passenger delays of up to eight hours.

A court heard he endangered the life of commuters when he drove his vehicle through a gate before he proceeded half a mile along the live track.

O’Halloran then abandoned the Mitsubishi Shogun across the line and fled the scene. Officers found a mobile phone inside the car and traced it back to him.

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O’Halloran jailed for ‘senseless’ stunt

He refused to comment during the police interview, only denying it was him driving the vehicle when shown CCTV footage of the "senseless" stunt.

Security cameras captured the vehicle driving through the Duddeston station in Birmingham next to the platform edge as it made its way along the tracks at around 7.30am on May 9.

O’Halloran, of Handsworth, Birmingham, denied endangering people on the railway, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and using a vehicle without insurance.

But he was found guilty following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court and was jailed for 15 months and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £156 on August 23.

‘An immensely dangerous and senseless act’

Detective Inspector Raymond Ascott, of British Transport Police, said afterwards: “This was an immensely dangerous and senseless act by O’Halloran which caused significant risk to passengers and damage to the railway.

“The sentence handed to him reflects the severity of this crime and we are thankful no one was injured as a result of O’Halloran’s alarming behaviour.

“He’ll now have plenty of time to reflect on his idiotic actions in prison.”

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