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Business & Money

Union mulls suing train operator over crash

Published: 20 Jan 13 10:34 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/45714/20130120/

A union representing a cleaner wrongly accused of stealing a train and guiding it into a Stockholm house on Tuesday is considering filing legal action against the rail operator.

"They have obviously defamed her," Johnny Nadérus of the Seko union said to the Svenska Dagbladet daily on Sunday.

The cleaner was initially given the blame for the crash in the early hours of Tuesday morning which left a Saltsjöbanan train embedded in the side of a house in the suburb of Saltsjöbaden in eastern Stockholm.

The Local's images from the scene of the crash

"She was a cleaner. Somehow she managed to get in and steal one of the trains. We're investigating how it could have happened," Tomas Hedenius, a spokesman for the rail operator Arriva, told the Aftonbladet daily on Tuesday.

However on Friday investigators confirmed there was no reason to believe that she intentionally drove off in the train.

The investigation is now instead looking at whether the crash was a crime against Sweden's workplace safety laws in order to assess what responsibility the train operator had in causing the accident.

RELATED PHOTO GALLERY: More images from the scene of the crash

Tomas Hedenius on Friday expressed regret for how the story had developed.

"I made it clear from the beginning that all scenarios were possible. It’s unfortunate that she was depicted as a thief, and I’m truly sad about that," Hedenius told The Local.

"I should have done more to make it clear that there are several possible scenarios. Obviously I didn’t do it enough.”

The Seko union intends to take a decision on Monday whether to press charges against Arriva.

The Local/pvs (news@thelocal.se)

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11:38 January 20, 2013 by JohnAndersson
They should all sue TheLocal.se for not amending their article:

"Cleaning lady steals train and crashes into house"

http://www.thelocal.se/45616/#.UPvI-2SWkjc
12:49 January 20, 2013 by muscle
@JohnAndersson:

I agree with you. It appears that many times across the world, media, without proper verification, give news which later are found incorrect. If a person can not be referred as criminal until declared by the law, the some rules should be applicable on media as well. How did they come to the conclusion that the person stole the train while the investigation was still going on? The same strategy sometimes messes up with the politics in many countries, as incorrect news ignite political chaos!

Sue the media and the train operator service (thelocal or any other newspaper that reported this in a way that portrayed the lady as a thief) and make them apologize.
11:28 January 21, 2013 by sumodaz
Probably should have been Cleaning lady "steals" train and crashes into house (with quotation marks). It's not the medias fault, more the fault of the rail operator for giving them the quote "steals". I was quite surprised they immediately came to that conclusion even more so that the spokesperson said "steal".
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