Train crossing where boy, 11, hit and killed was ‘never safe to use’ – here’s why
Jaiden Shehata was walking the route to school he took every day when he was tragically hit by a train at a crossing.
The year 7 pupil at Riddlesdown Collegiate was crossing the line at the Bourneview footpath crossing in Croydon when he was killed on January 23 this year.
Jaiden, who was a ‘good Christian boy’, was just 11-years-old.
A few days before his death he had packed up one of his most prized possessions – his Xbox – ready to donate to an orphanage in Egypt.
His parents Jozif and Naglaa – a photographer and children’s crisis worker respectively – have had their lives turned upside down by grief as they try to keep going for their other two sons, Richie and Reece.
Sitting down with the family, Naglaa told Metro: ‘I had come back from a night shift when I was woken up by two police officers at my door.
The Shehata family, inclduing Jaiden with parents Jozif and Naglaa (Picture: Provided by Jozif Shehata)
‘I kept asking what was wrong, but they were struggling to get the words out. But then they suddenly said, “Your son Jaiden is dead”.
‘I dropped to my knees and screamed, and everything after is blurry.’
The family has been battling through investigations ever since, but one thing is clear in their minds – the crossing should never have been open.
Concerns started to rise before the tracks even came into view.
The walk down the footpath is a steep and slippery one, obscured by trees and bushes. You have no choice but to grip onto the centre railing.
And worse still, there are no lights to signal when it is safe to cross. There isn’t even a line to show where to safely stand. To see if a train is coming, you have to emerge from a rickety gate.
As I reached the gates, a train going around 60mph suddenly whizzed past mere metres in front of me. I heard no noise, saw no lights and could not see what was coming.
Jaiden Shehata was on his wintery walk to school when he was hit by a train at a crossing. The year 7 pupil at Riddlesdown Collegiate, was crossing the railway line at the Bourneview footpath crossing in Croydon when he was struck by a train on January 23 this year. Jaiden, at only 11-years-old, was a ‘good Christian boy’ and just a few days before his death he had packed up one of his most prized possessions – his Xbox – ready to donate to an orphanage in Egypt.
Jaiden’s family feel the same. His older brother Reece, now 18, says he is classed as one of the crossing’s many near misses after narrowly avoiding being hit six years ago.
He said: ‘I remember feeling so shaken that I managed to stop just in time. and now a few years later it has got my little brother.’
Dad Jozif visited the crossing the day after his son was killed, and took videos of the trains passing.
‘You can see how silently they move until they are right in front of you,’ he said. ‘Train drivers were encouraged to sound horns as they approached but at the end of the day it was up to them if they bothered.’
Details ‘wrong’ in accident report
The track used to have whistle boards – which tell the driver to sound the horn – but from around 2015 they were removed.
But some drivers, knowing the safety levels of the crossing, continued to use them.
The accident report by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) states Jaiden did not ‘perceive the risk’ and as the driver sounded the horn, he looked up but did not have time to react.
It concludes: ‘The design and condition of the infrastructure did not change the pedestrian’s perception by alerting them to the risk from approaching trains.’
METRO Jaiden Shehata killed on tracks
The crossing where Jaiden was killed (Picture: Provided by Jozif Shehata)
Jaiden’s body was intact, but the lower part of his leg had been taken by the train, leading the family to believe he was standing still as the train approached.
The bulk of their recommendations is placing the onus on young people and schools to be more aware of the risks, with only one recommendation to Network Rail to ‘make the dangerous area at level crossings more noticeable’.
Jaiden’s family continues to question its findings.
The report states he is 158cm (5ft 2ins) tall, when in reality his family say he was much shorter.
Reece said: ‘I am just about 154 cm tall, and standing side-by-side with Jaiden he would only come up to my nose.’
‘Network Rail need to be prosecuted for corporate manslaughter’
David Holland, who lives next door to the crossing, was one of the first on the scene.
‘I heard an almighty thud, went outside, and called emergency services,’ he told Metro. ‘Poor kid didn’t stand a chance.’
He added: ‘I know first aid after years of working on building sites, but you need all sorts of special permissions to go on a track, even in an emergency.’
David has been pushing Network Rail to improve the safety of the crossing for years with little to no success.
METRO Jaiden Shehata killed on tracks
Letter showing the ORR saying ‘a balance had to be made between adequate control measures and a useful train service’ (Picture: Brooke Davies)
Letters show David pleading the public body to slow the train down to 30mph, and paint safety lines to stand behind as far back as four years ago after an adult died on the tracks in 2020.
But the Office for Rail and Road (ORR) replied there needs to be ‘a balance between adequate control measures and a useful train service’, which David described as ‘deeply upsetting’.
They did say ‘serious thought was being given to the provision of pedestrian warning lights’ – but more than four years on there was no sign of them.
David said: ‘Network Rail need to be done for Corporate Manslaughter – simple as.
‘After Jaiden was killed – and I say killed – it took seven months for them to just close the crossing. Network Rail is as useless as a chocolate teapot.’
Metro has contacted the ORR for comment.
Why has my son got the blame?
Jaiden’s family say they are ‘devastated’ after media outlets reported he was wearing his hood up and watching a film on his phone as he went to cross.
They said he had up a two-second Snapchat a friend had sent, which they say would not have distracted Jaiden.
Jaiden was a ‘good Christian boy’ who had even packed up his Xbox to donate to an orphanage in Egypt
His brother Richie said: ‘Young people are always sending each other stuff like that, but that would not have affected Jaiden’s perception at the crossing. It would have just still been open on his phone as he went to cross.’