The train collision at the Crusaders is becoming increasingly bizarre, with investigators focusing on a 20-year-old man.

A collision between two trains near Križevac has raised new questions, with investigators focusing particularly on the 20-year-old locomotive engineer. The incident occurred on Saturday around 10 am on track L 214 between the stations of Sv. Ivan Žabno and Gradec. Two trains, HŽ Carga number 81330 and HŽ Passenger Transport number 931, collided head-on, leaving 25 people injured. Among them were both train drivers, aged 61 and 20 years respectively, and a 43-year-old conductor. The passenger train was being operated by a 61-year-old driver traveling from Gradec toward Sv. Ivan Žabno, while the freight train was driven by his 20-year-old colleague approaching from the opposite direction. The investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing, with police continuing their inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the accident. The removal of severely damaged trains from the tracks is underway, including the freight train’s locomotive and the entire electric battery-powered passenger train. Specialized teams from Končar will be required to remove the latter due to its battery system. Following this, the railway line will undergo repairs, specifically replacing several rails, which could potentially restore traffic by Monday. Injured individuals will remain in Zagreb hospitals until they are released, after which the police will obtain medical documentation to complete their report and file charges against those responsible for the accident. Investigators have placed particular focus on the 20-year-old freight train driver, whose actions prior to the collision are under scrutiny. According to the Union of Train Drivers of Croatia, he is one of the best-trained engineers within Carga, having passed numerous types of exams. However, he is reportedly under significant stress following the incident. According to recent information, it appears that the 20-year-old driver may have ignored a stop signal at Žabno and proceeded through a red light. This has not yet been officially confirmed, but other details suggest how things might have gone wrong. All locomotives should be equipped with an automatic emergency brake system known as an "autostop device." If a driver fails to pass through a green light for any reason, they must press a button to confirm they saw the signal. If they fail to do so, the device automatically applies the brakes. Whether this happened in this case remains unknown, according to Mario Grbešić, leader of the Union of Transport Workers. It is unusual for a train to proceed through a red signal and result in such a serious accident. Fortunately, the driver of the passenger train reacted quickly, initiating an emergency braking maneuver and running towards the end of the electric battery-powered train, a standard procedure for escaping a locomotive. In regular locomotives, there is a designated area where drivers can take shelter if an accident occurs. Drivers are entitled to psychological support due to the stressful situations they face, ranging from collisions with pedestrians and animals to incidents like these. However, transport workers still lack access to similar support despite experiencing comparable stress and questioning their decisions each time something happens on the tracks, explained Grbešić. The passenger train had stopped at the station before the collision and started moving again, meaning its speed was significantly lower than the permitted maximum of 120 km/h. The final conclusions of the Accident Investigation Agency, which will conduct a safety investigation once all necessary data is collected, will determine the exact cause of the crash. Until then, speculation continues over whether the young driver ignored the red signal or made another critical error leading to the tragic collision.