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RAIB Finds Phone Distraction Likely in 11-Year-Old’s South London Rail-Crossing Death

Network Rail closed the Kenley crossing pending installation of miniature stop lights in December.

Overview

  • Jaiden Shehata, 11, was struck by a Southern train at the Bourneview footpath crossing near Kenley at about 8:03am on January 23 while walking to Riddlesdown Collegiate.
  • Investigators reported CCTV showed him looking at a glowing phone screen, with device analysis indicating a video was playing at the time.
  • The train driver sounded the horn and applied the emergency brake, yet the train stopped about 207 metres beyond the crossing.
  • The crossing has no warning lights or barriers, and a May 2023 risk assessment noted six near misses and a separate 2020 fatality recorded as deliberate.
  • The RAIB urged targeted, locally relevant rail-safety lessons in schools and recommended Network Rail and the RSSB make danger areas more noticeable and reassess protections for younger users, which both organisations said they would pursue.