An 11-year-old schoolboy who was struck and killed by a train on his walk to class may have been distracted by his new smartphone, an inquest has heard.
Jaiden Shehata had ‘probably’ been watching a video on his iPhone, which he received as a Christmas present just weeks earlier, when he was hit at the ‘high risk’ Bourneview level crossing near Kenley, south London. The collision happened shortly after 8am on January 23 last year, an investigator told the hearing.
He would normally have walked with his 18-year-old brother, Reece, but had left for school 20 minutes earlier than usual that morning.
Jaiden was on his way to Riddlesdown Collegiate in south Croydon, where he had been a pupil for six months. He used the level crossing on most school days.
That morning, however, he stepped into the path of a London-bound train, even though the driver sounded the horn while approaching the crossing.
The promising young footballer, who supported Chelsea, was not wearing headphones when he was struck.
South London Coroner’s Court in Croydon heard on Monday that Jaiden suffered an ‘unsurvivable injury’ and was probably dead by the time emergency crews arrived about 15 minutes later.
Paul Tickner, lead investigator for the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, told the inquest that the youngster was ‘probably’ distracted by his phone at the moment of impact.
‘It doesn’t mean he wasn’t aware of the risk,’ he said.
Jaiden Shehata, 11, was ‘probably’ distracted while watching a video when he was struck by a London-bound train at about 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 used the crossing on most days
The inquest jury also heard that Network Rail took seven months to close the level crossing, which had been earmarked for safety improvements when the tragedy occurred.
Network Rail had classified it as C4, a rating described during the hearing as indicating ‘high’ risk.
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Daniel Fisk, the company’s head of level crossing and safety, nevertheless told the jury that Bourneview crossing was ‘compliant’ with Network Rail’s standards at the time of Jaiden’s death.
He said Network Rail could not legally close the crossing without permission from Croydon Council because it was a public right of way.
Mr Fisk conceded that the eventual closure was prompted more by a petition from Jaiden’s family than by ‘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 that the risk was ‘being managed as practicable’.
A Network Rail risk assessment conducted at the crossing in 2023 identified potential measures that could have improved safety.
Those measures included clearer signage and the installation of ‘miniature stop lights’ displaying red and green signals.
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 on Monday 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’.