Young mother killed by express train after going on to tracks to retrieve mobile

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Daily Mail:

A young mother was killed by an express train at a busy station after she jumped on to the tracks to retrieve her mobile phone.
The 23-year-old woman was arguing with her boyfriend on Wimbledon Station in south west London when she dropped her phone.
It bounced several times on Platform 7 before it fell on to the track. As she jumped after it her boyfriend begged her to get back onto the platform.
Moments later she was hit by the fast-moving Waterloo to Exeter service which passed through Wimbledon at 7.30pm on Sunday.
Police officers and paramedics arrived on the platform within minutes. But the woman, who lived in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Trains which pass through the station without stopping are allowed to travel at speeds of up to 75mph.
Rail officials said there would have been 10 express trains every hour passing though the station without stopping on the evening of the accident.
Last night friend Lewis Brown wrote on Twitter: ^Just found out someone I knew well died at Wimbledon Station last night.
^I am lost for words, she was an amazing young mother.^
Andrew Kelly, a 23-year-old councillor from Walton-on-Thames, added: ^Very shocked to hear of the death of an old school friend at Wimbledon Station last night. Far, far too young.^
Police and rail bosses are studying CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision) images from the station to establish the full circumstances surrounding her death.
A source close to the enquiry said: ^The CCTV footage shows a young woman and her boyfriend arguing.
^She dropped her mobile phone which bounced on to the platform and on to the track.
^She jumped down and got wiped out at 60mph. The boyfriend was shouting at her not to jump down.^
The British Transport Police, which is investigating the death, has informed the victim^s family.
Chief Inspector Alison Evans said: ^This appears to have been a tragic accident and our thoughts remain with the woman^s family at this very difficult and sad time for them.^
There are two platforms on Wimbledon Station which have fast-moving trains passing them.
There are signs on both warning passengers to keep back from the platform edge.
And before each express train passes there is usually a warning announcement over the speaker system.
Officials are trying to establish if there was a warning to this effect before the train killed the woman on Sunday evening.
The tragedy reignited calls for more safety measures to be introduced at the station.
James Turnbull, 39, from Merton, said: 'It's totally shocking. I commute from this station every day and this is not the first time something like this has happened.
'People have been saying for a while there should be extra safety measures or a barrier to prevent people getting too close to the track.
^Some of these trains that don't stop at Wimbledon or the freight trains are so fast. It's quite frightening.'
A member of staff at the coffee shop on the platform where the victim jumped on to the track said the tragedy is the second of its kind in three weeks.
'I don't know what people are thinking,^ she said. ^It's a terrible thing to happen to this poor girl but people don't seem to think about how dangerous it is to go on the track.
^It's like people go crazy for a minute and forget where they are.' Officials said the track was closed for several hours following the accident.
One said: 'It's a really awful thing when this happens. Everyone's pretty shocked today.'
Last year passengers said safety barriers should be put up and the speed limit through Wimbledon Station should be reduced after there were three rush-hour deaths within four months.

[Btline]

Seems mad to campaign for a speed restriction here when you consider the 125mph FGW^▸ (First Great Western) expresses that thunder through Didcot stunning commuters who are often just inches from the edge.

Thoughts to the friends and family of the lady. Plus the driver.

[bigdaz]

She was dicing with death with the 3rd rail let alone being in direct contact with the train.  It's the child(ren) left behind that I sympathise with and the BSK^▸ (Brake Standard Corridor (carriage)) / SAL / FTN driver [not sure which drivers cover this diagram]

[Chris from Nailsea]

The Daily Mail have updated details of this very sad incident:

A young mother was killed by an express train after jumping on to the tracks to retrieve her mobile phone.
Charlene Pickering, 23, was arguing with boyfriend Daniel Pickett when she dropped the handset. It bounced several times on the platform before falling on to the tracks.
Mr Pickett begged her to get back on to the platform, but  his pleas came too late as  she was hit by a train travelling at 60mph.
Miss Pickering, from West Molesey, Surrey, was pronounced dead at the scene following the incident at Wimbledon station in south-west London at 7.30pm on Sunday. She leaves behind a five-year-old son, Toby.

 

[RichardB]

Desperately sad incident -nothing the railway can do to prevent this sort of thing, other than (as with kids' footballs on the track) reinforcing the fact that if it's on the line, it's gone. 

At Wimbledon, of all places, you might have hoped this poor woman would have known.

A terrible, terrible case and so sad not just for her family but also for all the rail staff involved, particularly the driver.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the British Transport Police press release:

Family of Charlene Pickering appeal for whereabouts of handbag and purse - Wimbledon

The family of Charlene Pickering, 23, who died after being struck at Wimbledon rail station on Sunday, 8 January, have made an appeal for information about the whereabouts of her handbag and purse.

The items have yet to be recovered and are believed either lost or stolen.

It is believed that Charlene was carrying the teal, leather effect River Island handbag, containing a small, brown Accessorize purse, at Wimbledon station on the evening of the incident.

However, despite three police searches of the tracks and platforms at the station and multiple enquiries with railway lost property offices, they have not yet been found. The loss has also been reported to local Metropolitan Police officers in Wimbledon.

In a joint-statement, Pamela and Guy Pollington, Charlene^s mother and stepfather, said: ^Following the tragic loss of our daughter on 8 January, we are appealing to anyone who may know the whereabouts of her bag and purse, which went missing from the scene.

^In them there would have been some personal belongings which would be of some comfort to us as a family and their return may help us as we try and come to terms with this tragedy."

British Transport Police (BTP^▸ (British Transport Police)) officers are currently preparing a file for the coroner following Charlene^s death, which is being treated as non-suspicious.

The inquest was opened at Westminster Coroner^s Court on Monday, 16 January and was adjourned to Monday, 16 April.