- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source
An 11-year-old schoolboy who was hit and killed by a train as he walked to class was distracted by his new smartphone, an inquest has concluded.
asserted
inquest → see → smartphone
Jaiden Shehata, a Year 7 student at Riddlesdown Collegiate in South Croydon, died while crossing the 'high risk' level crossing near Kenley, south London, on January 23 last year.
asserted
Shehata → die → January
He would usually have been accompanied by his 18-year-old brother, Reece, but had set off for school 20 minutes earlier than normal that day.
asserted
He → accompany → school
Jaiden was walking to the school he had joined just four months prior to the accident.
asserted
he → walk → accident
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.
asserted
driver → walk → crossing
Jaiden, a promising young footballer and Chelsea fan, was not wearing headphones at the time.
asserted
Jaiden → wear → time
At the inquest into Jaiden's death, Sarah Ormond-Walshe, senior coroner at South London Coroners' Court, said Jaiden was 'doing something which was very much normal behaviour by all of us', adding that 'everybody' gets distracted by their phones.
asserted
everybody → say → phones
The schoolboy was struck by the train at 8.03am.
asserted
schoolboy → strike → 8.03am
He was found by a police officer at 8.18am before paramedics arrived a few minutes later.
asserted
paramedics → find → 8.18am
He was pronounced dead at 8.52am.
asserted
He → pronounce → 8.52am
Jaiden Shehata, 11, died while crossing the 'high risk' level crossing near Kenley, south London on January 23 last year
Jaiden, a promising young footballer and Chelsea fan, was not wearing headphones at the time
A jury concluded on Thursday afternoon that the cause of his death was that he 'did not perceive the danger of the train approaching, probably because he was distracted by his mobile phone', and added that a lack of warning at the crossing also contributed to the accidental death.
asserted
lack → die → death
His medical cause of death was recorded as 'severe neck injuries'.
asserted
cause → record → injuries
Ms Ormond-Walshe told Jaiden's family: 'Everybody, everybody, looks at their phone.
asserted
Everybody → tell → phone
So please, let that go because every single person in this room does that, and he was only 11 years old.
asserted
he → let → that
She said that she would write a report on the prevention of future deaths in an effort to prevent something similar from happening again.
asserted
she → say → something
Summing up the evidence heard at the jury inquest, Ms Ormond-Walshe said: 'Jaiden had been using this route to school since September 2024, four months.
asserted
Jaiden → sum → September
He normally walked to school with his older brother, but that day, he was by himself.
asserted
he → walk → himself
CCTV showed Jaiden holding a 'glowing object in his hands' right before he was struck by the train, Paul Tickner, a Rail Accident Investigation Branch investigator said.
asserted
Tickner → show → train
The inquest previously heard that Jaiden was watching an eight-second video his friend sent him on WhatsApp when he was struck.
asserted
he → hear → WhatsApp
Ms Ormond-Walshe said: 'Mr Tickner said it was important to have a change of environment, something distinct when a pedestrian was going across the level [crossing].
asserted
pedestrian → say → level
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
The crossing been ranked by Network Rail as C4 - described at the hearing as meaning 'high' risk
'
asserted
crossing → walk → risk
He agreed with me that the use of mobile phones was increasing.
asserted
use → agree → phones
Jaiden was doing something which was very much normal behaviour by all of us.'
asserted
which → do → us
The jury found that Jaiden died an accidental death.
asserted
Jaiden → find → death
The foreperson told the court: 'Firstly, Jaiden did not perceive the danger of the train approaching the crossing, probably because he was distracted by his mobile phone.
asserted
he → tell → phone
The second probable cause of the accident was that Bourneview was a passive crossing, which was not fitted with active warning systems giving a visual and auditory warning of the train's approach.
asserted
which → fit → approach
'A possible further cause was that the design and construction of the crossing could have made it more obvious to pedestrians that they were entering a hazardous area.'
uncertain
they → make → area
The jury had previously heard that it took seven months for Network Rail to close the level crossing, which was scheduled for safety improvements at the time of the tragedy.
asserted
which → hear → tragedy
It had been ranked by Network Rail as C4 – described at the hearing as meaning 'high' risk.
asserted
It → rank → 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.
asserted
crossing → tell → 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'.
asserted
closure → say → view
A risk assessment carried out by Network Rail on the crossing in 2023 identified possible changes that could have made it safer.
uncertain
it → carry → changes
These included better signage and the installation of 'miniature stop lights' with red and green indicators.
asserted
These → include → 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.
asserted
which → draw → 111
The coroner said there had been 'approximately one near miss per year at Bourneview'.
asserted
coroner → say → Bourneview
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.
asserted
Rail → complete → it
Ms Ormond-Walshe said: 'Jaiden died in January 2025.
asserted
Jaiden → say → January
The most recent risk assessment conducted on the Bourneview level crossing was completed a year and eight months before his death.
asserted
assessment → conduct → death
The work was planned for March 2026 - two years, nine months from the time of the risk assessment - and this was found by the RAIB to be an acceptable amount of time to put in recommended changes.'
asserted
this → plan → changes
The Aporia
