(The Associated Press circulated the following on June 7.)
MELBOURNE, Australia — A truck driver was charged Thursday following a collision with a train that killed 11 passengers at a southern Australian rail crossing, police said.
Christian Scholl, 48, was charged with culpable driving during a bedside hearing at a hospital in the city of Melbourne, Victoria state police spokesman Leigh Wadeson said.
If convicted, the charge carries a potential 20-year prison sentence. More charges were expected, Wadeson said.
Scholl’s semitrailer crashed into the three-carriage train carrying 36 passengers on Tuesday in Kerang, a small farming community 175 miles northwest of Melbourne.
Scholl, who does not have life-threatening injuries, was ordered to appear in court on Dec. 19, Wadeson said.