A schoolboy who was hit and killed by a train as he walked to class was distracted by his new smartphone, an inquest has heard.
Jaiden Shehata, 11, had ‘probably’ been watching a video on his iPhone – received as a Christmas gift just a month earlier – when he was hit on the ‘high risk’ level crossing near Kenley, south London, just after 8am on January 23 last year, an investigator said.
He would usually have been accompanied by his 18-year-old brother, Reece, but had set off for school 20 minutes earlier than usual that day.
Jaiden was walking to Riddlesdown Collegiate in south Croydon, where he had been a pupil for six months, and used the level crossing most days.
But that morning he walked into the path of an oncoming London-bound train at the Bourneview crossing, despite the driver sounding the horn while approaching the crossing.
Jaiden, a promising young footballer and Chelsea fan, was not wearing headphones at the time.
An inquest into his death at South London Coroner’s Court, Croydon, heard yesterday that Jaiden suffered an ‘unsurvivable injury’ and was likely dead by the time emergency services arrived 15 minutes later.
Paul Tickner, RAIB lead investigator, told the hearing the youngster was ‘probably’ distracted by his phone at the time of impact.
‘It doesn’t mean he wasn’t aware of the risk,’ he said.
Jaiden Shehata, 11, was ‘probably’ distracted by watching a video when he was struck by a London-bound train at around 8.03am on January 23 last year near Kenley, south London
The youngster was walking to Riddlesdown Collegiate in south Croydon – where he had been a Year 7 pupil since the previous September – and had used the crossing most days
A jury at the inquest also heard it took seven months for Network Rail to close the level crossing, which was scheduled for safety improvements at the time of the tragedy.
It had been ranked by Network Rail as C4 – described at the hearing as meaning ‘high’ risk.
But the firm’s head of level crossing and safety, Daniel Fisk, told the jury the Bourneview crossing was ‘compliant’ with its standards at the time of the tragedy.
He said Network Rail didn’t have the legal authority to close the crossing and had to obtain permission from Croydon Council, as it was a public right of way.
And he conceded its eventual closure was driven more by a petition from the family than ‘Network Rail’s view’.
‘The crossing was compliant with our standards. If it wasn’t, then (risk) mitigation would have been put in place,’ he said.
Mr Fisk added the risk was ‘being managed as practicable’.
A risk assessment carried out by Network Rail on the crossing in 2023 identified possible changes that could have made it safer.
These included better signage and the installation of ‘miniature stop lights’ with red and green indicators.
By December 2024 – a month before Jaiden’s death – designs were being drawn up for the crossing, which has been ranked the 13th most dangerous footpath on Network Rail’s Sussex route out of 111.
A jury at the inquest today also heard that it took seven months for Network Rail to close the ‘high risk’ level crossing after the family launched a petition
That work was completed earlier this year, but the crossing remains closed as Network Rail wants to complete ‘more engagement with local schools’ about rail safety before reopening it.
Mr Fisk said the lack of staff, money, and the complexity behind designing a ‘Miniature Stop Lights’ system had caused a delay in implementing new safety features at the crossing.
A report by RAIB published after Jaiden’s death highlighted how the design and construction of the Bourneview crossing contributed to the youngster’s death.
It raised concerns about the ‘old and unimposing’ fence and gate, and how the muddy and sloping path would mean people ‘would be looking downwards and watching their step, to avoid slipping or tripping, rather than looking up at the [warning] signs’.
