Jaiden Shehata was walking to school when the accident happened at about 8.03am on January 23 at the Bourneview footpath crossing near Kenley, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said.
After seeing Jaiden start to cross the railway, the driver sounded the horn and applied the emergency brake, the boy looked up but did not have time to move clear before the train reached the crossing.
Jaiden suffered fatal injuries as the South train hit him at around 50mph.
The RAIB said the accident happened because he did not perceive the risk associated with the train, probably because he was “distracted” by his phone.
But Jaiden’s parents have reacted angrily to the RAIB’s investigation, The Sunday Times reports.
His dad, Jozif, said: “They are blaming my son. He wasn’t wearing headphones. He wasn’t watching a film. It was a seven-second clip sent to him by his friends [which showed one of them walking to school]. That’s not something that will take his attention away.
“Jaiden was killed by the neglect from the railway [authorities]. The improvements should have been made years ago to make the crossing safer. This was an accident waiting to happen.”
There had been six near misses at the crossing between 2018 and 2023.
Two years ago Network Rail recommended lights been installed on the crossing but work is not set to be completed until March 2026.
Jaiden was a Year 7 student at Riddlesdown Collegiate in South Croydon – in a statement the school described him as a “kind and popular student”.
Investigators said CCTV footage shows Jaiden walking towards the crossing, looking ahead and down at a “glowing object” almost certain to be the illuminated screen of a phone in his hands, with his coat hood pulled over his head.
Analysis of his phone suggests a video clip was playing at the time of the accident, the RAIB report stated.
Jaiden’s family also criticised the RAIB’s assertion that his awareness of his surroundings may have been affected by his coat.
They said he had his hood up as temperatures were 3C and the RAIB report has led to accusations he was a “hoodlum”.
An RAIB spokesman said: “We are deeply sorry to learn that the family of Jaiden Shehata have concerns about elements of the 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.”
The Office of Rail and Road added: ‘Our thoughts remain with Jaiden’s family and all those affected by this tragic incident.
‘Following the incident at Bourneview footpath crossing, we carried out an investigation which carefully considered the available evidence. We found no breaches of health and safety law by Network Rail.
‘We continue to monitor how Network Rail manages risk at footpath crossings, and we will oversee the implementation of the Rail Accident Investigation Branch recommendations to make further improvements. Ensuring the safety of those who use, work on and interact with our railway remains the ORR’s highest priority.’
