A truck driver has been jailed for his 19 seconds of inattention which led to a fatal collision with a Melbourne train.
Melville John Bollen, 71, smashed his prime mover through lowered boom gates, clipping and derailing a Metro train in Dandenong South in November 2012.
The crash killed 43-year-old train passenger David Cron and seriously injured several other passengers.
Victorian Supreme Court Justice Lex Lasry jailed Bollen for five years on Monday saying he was guilty of a remarkable failure behind the wheel.
He said there was no conclusive evidence Bollen had actually fallen asleep.
"There is here a remarkable period of inattention in circumstances where an active level crossing was ahead of you," he said.
"The fact that you were distracted for as long as 19 seconds naturally makes this a very serious offence.
"It's yet another case that illustrates the extraordinary danger when motorists do not comply with railway crossing signals."
Police experts determined Bollen was not concentrating on the road for 19 seconds, in which time he covered a distance of 266 metres, in the lead-up to the crash.
By the time he regained focus and slammed on the brakes 72 metres out from the crossing it was too late to take evasive action.
Bollen, of Narre Warren North, has pleaded guilty to culpable driving and negligently causing serious injury.
His barrister Jason Gullaci previously told the court the exact reason for Bollen's inattention was unclear.
But he said his client remembers spotting a trio of vintage cars parked some 300 metres from the crossing.
Bollen was a car-lover and the vehicles might have diverted his attention, Mr Gullaci said.
Prosecutor Anne Hassan said Bollen had breached the regulations governing rest periods for Victoria's truck drivers three times in the week before the November 3 crash.
He had worked nine consecutive days, and was just completing a 10-hour shift when he crashed, she said.
He must serve a minimum of two and a half years in jail.
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