Family still has questions
MAN DIED AFTER BEING STRUCK BY METRO AT STATION
AN INQUEST into the death of a man who was hit by a Metro train has been adjourned after the family said they still had unanswered questions about his final hours.
Lee Brown was killed on the tracks at Shiremoor in the early hours of March 21 last year – more than three hours after he arrived at the North Tyneside station.
The inquest at Newcastle Coroner’s Court heard Lee can be seen on CCTV entering Shiremoor station at 2.06am.
A police officer’s statement said the 26-year-old, who lived in Whitley Bay, was alone and “appeared to be intoxicated”.
It described him “staggering” on a grassed area parallel to the platform.
The remote hearing was told Lee was then seen going onto the tracks at 4.40am.
Tyne and Wear Metro operators Nexus were unaware of his presence until he was struck by a train at 5.20am. His family have since questioned why stations that are open to the public after hours are not monitored “24/7” on CCTV, saying that “if they had been, Lee would still be with us”.
And coroner Karen Dilks said she would be writing to Nexus for more information on how open stations are monitored.
The inquest heard that the driver was heading from South Gosforth to Tynemouth with empty Metro carriages before the start of the day’s service. As he approached Shiremoor he “saw what he thought was a figure and applied the brakes,” before calling the control room to say he “may have hit someone”.
The driver was said to be “extremely traumatised” by the incident.
Forensic pathologist Dr Tracy Sorkin confirmed that Lee had died after suffering multiple injuries, with the most serious being to his head and leg.
A toxicology report showed that he had 111 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, which the toxicologist said “may have had an impact on his ability to make decisions and understand the consequences”.
Colin Whittle, Nexus Head of Legal, told the inquest that unless the control centre is alerted to an incident, staff do not observe open stations such as Shiremoor out of hours.
The inquest was adjourned after being partly-heard when Lee’s family raised questions about his final hours that had not been answered by the police.
Ms Dilks said she would stop the inquest in order to “get more evidence to help [the family] understand more clearly the events that occurred”, and for the officer to provide “a detailed description of [Lee’s] movements as viewed by him on the CCTV”.
Ms Dilks said: “It is clear the communications with Northumbria Police have perhaps been short of the standard that they should have been.”
In the meantime, the coroner said she would also write to Nexus about their policy on open stations.
Ms Dilks said: “While it may not be a regular event, there is a risk of people entering while under the influence of substances. I need to understand what they plan to do to ensure this type of situation doesn’t happen again.”
The inquest is set to resume in April.
Following Lee’s death last year, his family described him as a muchloved son, brother, uncle and cousin.
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