A video has emerged of the driver of the train that derailed in Spain, killing 79 people, admitting he was travelling at twice the speed limit when he approached a tight turn.
Francisco Jose Garzon Amo told a judge he "couldn't explain" why he did not try to slow down during the approach to the corner, footage of a recent court session shows.
"I still don't understand how I didn't see ... mentally, or whatever, I just don't know."
He said the journey was "going fine" until the train reached the curve. When the danger became clear, he said he thought: "Oh my God, the curve, the curve, the curve, I won't make it."
The train then careered off the tracks, killing scores of people.
Video emerges
An edited video of Garzon's appearance at Sunday night's court session in Santiago de Compostela, where the accident happened, was released on Thursday by Spain's ABC newspaper.
In it, Garzon (52) appears shaken and at times hesitant. He is seen sitting in a chair in front of the judge, with four rows of chairs behind him in the small courtroom.
The crash happened on July 24, when the high-speed train carrying 218 people in eight carriages approached the capital of Spain's northwestern Galician region.
The train had been going as fast as 119mph shortly before the derailment.
The driver activated the brakes "seconds before the crash", reducing the speed to 95mph, according to the court's preliminary findings based on black box data recorders.
The speed limit on the section of track where the crash happened was 50mph.
Court appearance
In his Sunday night testimony, Garzon said he was going far over the speed limit and should have started to slow down several miles before he reached the notorious curve.
He was asked what was going through his mind when he went through the last tunnel before the curve.
"Sincerely I don't know," he replied. "I'm not so crazy that I wouldn't put the brakes on."
The investigating judge is trying to establish whether human error or a technical failure caused the country's worst rail accident in decades, and Garzon is at the centre of the investigation.
The judge provisionally charged Garzon on Sunday with multiple counts of negligent homicide.
National rail company Renfe said Garzon is an employee with 30 years of experience who became an assistant driver in 2000 and a fully qualified driver in 2003.
