Conductor Donald Dinnie with partner Trish Ewen, who said her life had been turned upside down
By Ken Banks
BBC Scotland North East reporter
A passenger who survived a fatal rail crash near Stonehaven has described the moment that the train derailed – and paid tribute to the conductor who was among the victims.
The 32-year-old woman, who wants to remain anonymous, suffered serious face and shoulder injuries after being thrown across the carriage and out of a window.
She said conductor Donald Dinnie had been a “genuinely nice man” and expressed her shock at his death.
“I couldn’t understand how Donald was standing talking to me one minute and gone the next,” she said.
Donald’s partner, Trish Ewen, has also told how her life was turned upside down after his death.
The two women spoke out as Network Rail admitted a series of health and safety failings which led to the death of three people in the crash.
Driver Brett McCullough, 45, and passenger Christopher Stuchbury, 62, were also killed when the train hit a landslide in August 2020 after heavy rain.
The 32-year-old passenger, from the Stonehaven area, said she had not realised what was happening until just before impact.
“The first time I realised there was an issue was when the movement on the train felt weird. It just didn’t feel typical, it was like floating or sliding, like when you aquaplane in a car,” she said.
“There was a strange noise like metal dragging along metal. I will never forget that noise.
“I looked up at that moment and almost immediately I was thrown across the carriage.
“I hit the window head on and I was knocked out.”
The next thing she remembers is waking up at the side of the railway line and seeing the train behind her.
Image source, RAIB
The derailment happened near Stonehaven in August 2020
“The carriage directly behind me was laying across the rail track, crushed under another carriage. I later found out that the crushed carriage was the one that I had been ejected from.
“I could see a fire and smell smoke. I became aware very quickly that I was hurt.”
She had blood on her face and clothes and could feel a bone sticking out of her left shoulder.
“My ears were ringing so it was hard to make things out. But I remember two sounds – one was a weird deep humming noise coming from the train.
“The other was a voice, a scream, someone calling for help and someone else shouting back that help was coming.
“I was just sitting in shock. I lost all my belongings in the crash, so I relied on both another passenger and members of the public, to tell my family I was alive.”
The survivor said there were moments when she felt guilty about surviving – especially when she thought about Donald Dinnie.
“I remember him being a chatty and genuinely nice man,” she said.
“Donald spoke to me about his partner, even joking that the weather would mean he’d get to finish early and was excited to get home.
“He kept us all informed, thinking of other people the whole time and making sure we were all okay.”
She felt an “overwhelming sadness” when she learned that he had died in the crash.
“If I’m honest that’s my main motivation for talking now.
“I want Donald’s family to know he was happy that day, thinking of his loved ones the whole time and above all else, he made us feel safe. I’m truly sorry you lost him.”
Image source, Trish Ewen
Mr Dinnie was described as a genuinely nice man
The woman said she had “totally changed” since the crash.
“I’m a lot more fearful now, whereas I used to be more easy-going.
“I even struggle to be a passenger in a car. It’s like you can’t feel safe unless you are literally in control of everything.
“I do still take the train – it took a long time to get the confidence but I’m getting there.”
She said she was reminded of the derailment every day when she looked in the mirror.
“The scar on my face is a constant reminder of that day, but also a reminder that without it I wouldn’t be alive.
“I don’t know why I survived. But I feel lucky every day that I did.”
Image source, Trish Ewen
Trish Ewen said she had known in her gut that Donald’s train was involved in the crash
Trish Ewen, 59, and Mr Dinnie, 58, had been a couple for eight years before the tragedy.
“The last three years has completely turned my life upside down,” said Trish.
“I got a phone call while I was at work to say there was a train accident and I went to a family member’s house and we all sat around the television – we didn’t know what else to do.
“No-one had called us so we still had no confirmation if it was Donald’s train – but I knew in my gut it was.”
Trish said that she and Donald should have been thinking about retiring together, but that she had been left to exist alone.
“Life throws challenges at us all but something like this is so incomprehensible that there’s no past experiences to draw on to ease any acceptance or recovery,” she said.
“You don’t know what to do, where to turn, and there’s genuinely nothing to do but brace yourself for each new day without your loved one.”
She said it was right that Network Rail had been prosecuted over the crash, and said that any financial penalty should be invested in improving the railways.
