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.
‘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.
Dangerous crossing
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Metro senior reporter Brooke Davies took a visit to the spot where Jaiden died.
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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’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.’
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.
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.
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.’
The fact his hoodie was up has been particuarly upsetting, as mum Naglaa made him wear it before he left for school.
She said: ‘He would always go out without a jacket, but I insisted he wear it that morning. Now it is being used against him and us, with people online saying he was a thug.
‘I will always regret sending him out with it on.’
His brother Reece added: ‘His hood was up because it was a cold and wet morning in January, I don’t know why that is so hard for people to understand that.’
What has Network Rail said?
Lucy McAuliffe, Sussex route director for Network Rail, said: ‘The thoughts of everyone in the rail industry remain with Jaiden’s loved ones, the pupils of Riddlesdown Collegiate, and the local community.
‘There are no words sufficient to express our sorrow after such a loss.
‘We are taking significant steps to help prevent a tragedy like this from happening again. Following close work with Croydon Council, the crossing was temporarily closed and next month we’ll be installing miniature stop lights (MSLs) to improve safety by providing a clear signal and warning sound to let people know when it is safe to cross.
‘We are studying the RAIB report carefully and will act on its recommendations.’
A spokesperson for the Rail Accident Investigation Branch said: ‘We are deeply sorry to learn that the family of Jaiden Shehata have concerns about elements of RAIB’s safety investigation into this tragic accident. We have been in direct contact with the Shehata family during our investigation and will be making contact with them again to try to address the specific issues they have raised.
‘RAIB’s safety investigation and subsequent report highlighted issues with the level crossing concerned, such as its configuration and the absence of active warning systems.
‘We also identified issues with the way that assessments of level crossings consider the risks to young people. To address these and related issues, RAIB has made three safety recommendations.’
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