Mum of girl, 16, killed by train after she sat on tracks tries to sue Network Rail for £22k
NETWORK Rail is being sued by a grieving mother whose teenage daughter was killed by a “silent” night train as she sat on the tracks at a level crossing.
Straight-A student Milena Gagic, 16, died instantly when she was hit by the locomotive in Hipperholme, Halifax, in December 2014.
The teen and her best friend Amelia Hustwick had gone to the crossing late at night to chat because it was “a nice place to hang out”, Central London County Court heard.
They were sitting between the actual train tracks, “laughing and giggling” because they were convinced trains did not run at night.
Both girls had also grown up in the local area and believed that, if any train did in fact approach, it would sound its horn.
But since 2007, a “night time quiet period” had been ushered in, barring horns between 11pm and 7am, said barrister Stephen Glyn.
Milena’s mum Leanne Gagic is now suing Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd for £22,124 in damages, although her barrister explained that her case is “not about money”.
LATE NIGHT TRAGEDY
She says the company breached its duty of care in failing to properly warn people that night trains no longer sounded their horns at Hipperholme, where villagers hear the sounds of train whistles over 100 times a day.
A simple sign explaining that drivers would no longer sound their horn overnight would have saved her daughter’s life, she claims.
But Network Rail is disputing fault, denies breaching its duty suggesting Milena was herself to blame.
Signs may have been ineffective anyway, as studies say they are frequently missed, the rail infrastructure body claims.
Mrs Gagic cut a dignified figure in the witness box as she testified to the court this week.
Milena was studying for her A-levels when she died having clocked up eleven A-stars at GCSE, her devastated mum said.
She dreamt of being a zoologist and “wanted to go to university very much,” she added.
Her barrister Stephen Glyn said it was hard to see and hear approaching trains at this crossing location due to curvature of the track.
And he claimed locals such as Milena and Amelia would have been lulled into a false sense of security because train horns continued to sound during the day.
He said Network Rail had long accepted there was a risk at the crossing because “whistle boards”, which instruct drivers to sound their horn, were previously in place.
STRAIGHT-A STUDENT
But, the company banned night time horn use in 2007 due to “noise pollution complaints”, the court heard.
That curfew was rolled out across the network as a “blanket rule”, said Mr Glyn.
Despite knowing of the risk to public safety, Network Rail had “done nothing” to mitigate the risk after removing the whistle boards, he claimed before Judge Heather Baucher.
Mr Glyn also highlighted a statement made by Milena’s friend Amelia to police.
She explained how the two girls had gone out that night after going to the shops to buy ingredients for baking biscuits.
They went on to a friend’s house and later sat in the park where they smoked cannabis.
But neither girl was high when they finally reached the level crossing, she stressed and Mr Glyn also confirmed that no drugs traces were detected in post mortem reports on Milena.
“We just sat there laughing and giggling,” she said.
“The train rushed past out of nowhere going very fast. I looked up and assumed that Milena had jumped out of the way.
“But then I saw her body lying in a heap ten metres away.”
She added: “We thought if a train comes, it would toot. We just didn’t think they ran at night.”
Amelia and Milena were like “two peas in a pod”, she explained, adding: “She was my favourite person in the world.”
They had gone to the crossing because it was a good place to hang out, she said, and added: “We did not go there to take our lives.”
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The train was travelling at around 55mph at impact and only Amelia managed to jump out of its path.
Network Rail barrister, Helen Hobhouse, argued that its “duty of care” was restricted to pedestrians crossing the track.
Studies also show that signs are “frequently not noticed or observed”, she said.
She added: “There would have been no significant risk to anyone using the crossing between 11pm and 7am, provided they checked carefully in both directions before crossing the track”.
The judge reserved judgment on the case until a later date.
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