The driver of the train car that was derailed, in what is being described as Spain’s worst rail disaster in almost 70 years, has been charged with 79 counts of homicide by professional recklessness. The driver, identified as Francisco Jose Garzon, was also charged with an undetermined number of counts of causing injury by professional recklessness.
Examining Magistrate Luis Alaez formally charged Garzon with "79 counts of homicide and numerous offences of bodily harm, all of them committed through professional recklessness," the court said in a statement on Sunday night.
According to reports Garzon had admitted to being reckless due to a momentarily lapse, and then taking the curve to fast. On Wednesday, July 24, the eight-carriage high-speed train, which Garson was operating, derailed coming around a tight curve, crashed and caught fire.
Video evidence and passenger accounts indicate the high-speed Alvia train derailed as it attempted to take the sharp bend outside Santiago de Compostela. Garzon entered the dangerous curve at more than twice the 80 kph (49 mph) limit. At the section of the track where the accident happened, it was up to the driver to respond to prompts to slow down.
Renfe President Julio Gomez-Pomar rejected criticism that the safety system was insufficient, saying the debate "does not make much sense."
The death toll tragically rose to 79 following the death of another injured passenger, a woman from the United States, Sunday night; 70 people remain in the hospital, with 22 in critical condition.
Following a court appearance on Sunday, Garzon was released since his arrest on Thursday, but was ordered to surrender his passport and check in regularly with the court. No parties involved in the case, which include state train operator Renfe, state railway firm Adif and two insurance companies, have yet to call for Garzon’s jailing pending trail. However, the railway drivers' union did express concern that Garon had been formally accused and arrested before the extraction and analysis of data from the train’s "black boxes."
Spain is to hold a memorial service honoring the 79 victims of the high-speed train crash. The ceremony is scheduled to take place in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, a world-famous pilgrimage city in northwestern Spain where the train crashed.
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