‘Ray of sunshine’ Esme took her own life, coroner rules
A “loving and sweet” 15-yearold girl who died after being hit by a train near Keynsham last summer took her own life, a coroner has concluded.
Esme Berry, from Saltford, died on August 31, 2020, after she was seen making her way onto the Bath to Bristol railway line.
When the emergency services arrived just a few minutes later, a police officer said her injuries were “clearly unsurvivable” and she was pronounced dead by a paramedic.
In the days after she passed away, her mother Vicky paid tribute to her “beautiful girl”. She wrote: “The most beautiful, happy, talented, stunning girl anyone could ever wish to meet who was a ray of sunshine in all our lives.
“Always friendly, kind, caring, loving and sweet, tragically taken from us all so suddenly.
“Esme, your family love you so much you know that, we told you every single day and will continue telling you every single day.
“Forever and ever in our hearts. Love you my beautiful girl.”
At an inquest in Flax Bourton on April 9, Avon coroner Dr Peter Harrowing said that Esme had shown no sign of depression or suicidal thoughts before her death.
Her parents chose not to attend
the inquest and Dr Harrowing read their statements to the court, along with an eye-witness account of the incident, and statements from the train driver and a police officer.
Esme and her mother had been on trips to the Brecon Beacons and Bournemouth beach in the days leading up to August 31.
That afternoon, she left home without saying where she was going and her mum “assumed she was going on her paper round”.
Ms Berry checked if her daughter’s paper bag had gone and then looked up her location on the app Find My Friends. She saw Esme was on Wedmore Road but wasn’t concerned as it was part of her delivery route.
However, when the 15-year-old headed towards the train tracks, her mum began to worry. By the time she made it to the line, the emergency services were already there.
Behn Price, a keen cyclist and train enthusiast, witnessed the tragedy from a bridge over the tracks. He rang the Network Rail emergency number on the bridge to tell them to stop the trains. He “couldn’t get through to someone immediately”, so he rang 999.
Dr Harrowing also read a statement from the train driver, Jonathan Jones, who was nearing the end of the Westbury to Bristol route that day.
Mr Jones has worked for Great Western Rail for 30 years and said it was “very unusual and rare” for people to take their lives on the line.
After seeing Esme, he applied the emergency brakes but said it was impossible to stop the train in time.
The engine stopped “a few seconds on” and he stayed in his cab until the emergency services arrived.
On arriving at the scene, PC Thomas Mcintyre said it was “clear” Esme’s injuries were “unsurvivable” and in a post-mortem, Dr Andrew Bamber said that the primary cause of death was “trauma to the neck”.
Ms Berry, and Esme’s father Steven, said in their respective statements that their daughter had given them “no cause for concern” in the days before the tragedy.
The court heard that she was a
“funny, happy girl who was great to be around” and that there had been no indications of bullying, peer pressure or that she had been researching suicide on social media.
Esme’s mum said she had never thought Esme was depressed or having thoughts of self-harm, and when she visited her father twice a week, he found she was always “bubbly”.
Dr Harrowing made clear at the outset of the inquest that he was on a fact-finding mission and that he “could not answer why” Esme had chosen to take her own life.
Summing up the evidence before him, the coroner said: “She [Esme] sustained injuries that were unsurvivable. The train driver took all action possible by applying the brakes. There was absolutely nothing he could have done to avoid striking Esme and causing her injuries.
“My sympathies are with Esme’s family, friends, and also with the train driver.”
Although he acknowledged that the evidence before him gave no indication of suicidal thoughts, he was clear in his conclusion.
“I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that this was a deliberate act on Esme’s part, to take her life and that was what resulted. I am not here to decide why Esme did this, but her family and friends should not reproach themselves.
“I am satisfied that this was a deliberate act with the intention of taking her life and I have to record a verdict of suicide,” he said.
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