The driver of a tram which crashed killing seven people and injuring 51 others will not face prosecution, it emerged today.
Alfred Dorris, of Beckenham, South East London, will not face action following the incident when a tram derailed near Sandilands in South London, almost three years ago.
An investigation found that Mr Dorris, who was then 42, probably drifted into a "micro sleep" before the tram sped round a sharp bend at 45 miles per hour.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch said it is "probable" he "temporarily lost awareness" on a straight section of track and fell into the micro sleep for up to 49 seconds.
The Crown Prosecution Service said the decision to not bring a charge of gross negligence manslaughter was due to a lack of evidence.
Corporate manslaughter charges will not be brought against either Transport for London, or the operator, Tram Operations Ltd.
Prosecutors said the available evidence does "not support" a prosecution.
There were 69 passengers on the tram when it overturned on the morning of November 9, 2016.
Read more of today's top stories
When it came off the tracks, when it was dark and in heavy rain, it had been travelling at almost four times the speed limit on the line.
The official report into the incident concluded Mr Dorris had probably dozed off in the moments before the tram left the tracks.
Those who died in the crash were Dane Chinnery, 19, Dorota Rynkiewicz, 35, Philip Seary, 57, and Robert Huxley, 63, from New Addington, and Mark Smith, 35, and Donald Collett, 62, from Croydon.
Driver fatigue was "by far the most likely explanation of what happened," the Crown Prosecution Service said, but "it is clear that this was an unintended and involuntary act".
Detective Superintendent Gary Richardson, of British Transport Police, said every scrap of possible evidence has been scrutinised.
"We know that this latest update may not be the news that many, including the family members who lost loved ones, had hoped for," he said.
British Transport Police will continue to investigate if health and safety laws had been breached.
Details of an inquest into the crash are expected to be revealed in the next week.
