Teenage girl dies after falling under a train in Angmering (From The Argus)
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Teenage girl dies after falling under a train in Angmering
4:53pm Sunday 22nd November 2009 in
A teenage girl who died after she fell under a train was described as "kind, thoughtful and spirited" by her grieving family today.
It is thought the 16-year-old, said by friends to be a student named Megan Moore, slipped and fell between the moving train and platform.
Horrified witnesses, who said the teenager was returning home after a night out, said she ran alongside the train after getting out of one of the carriages.
Her parents Lorraine and Howard and brother Ryan said: "We would like to thank everybody for being so kind and supportive at this sad and difficult time.
"She was a fantastic daughter and sister, a kind, thoughtful and spirited girl who was blossoming into a young lady.
"She will always be loved and missed by her family and many friends."
Crews from Sussex Police, West Sussex Fire and Rescue and South East Coast Ambulance were called to Angmering Station, near Littlehampton, on Saturday night.
An ambulance spokeswoman said the teenager was confirmed dead at the scene.
A 19-year-old, who did not want to be named, said he saw his friend fall.
He said: “She got off the train and started running and then she just suddenly slipped.
“She was wearing high heels and she fell in the gap between the train and the platform. I don’t know for what reason she was running.
“At one point she was literally in front of me and then seconds later she was on the track.
“Everyone had their head in their hands. Everyone was crying and screaming.
“Her best mate was just screaming. It was horrific. She was utterly distraught.”
He added: “I think she was with her best mate and they had just gone into town or had maybe been to a party.
“I spoke to her mate literally just before that happened. It was really bad. She had so many friends as well.
Just from her Facebook page you can see she had so many.”
Flowers and tributes to Megan were left at the station by friends and family last night.
One said: “Megan, my best friend. I miss you so much. Rest in peace cheeky. I love you so much.”
Another read: “You’ll never be forgotten. Lots of love.”
A dedicated Facebook page called Rest in Peace Megan Moore was also set up hours after the incident.
One friend has written: “You will be missed by so many people. Rest in peace angel.”
A spokesman for British Transport Police said it is not treating the incident as suspicious.
He said: “Shortly before midnight on Saturday, November 21, we were called to Angmering Station where a person had fallen under a train and suffered fatal injuries.
“The full circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated but it is not being treated as suspicious.”
Comments(23)
tekniko
says...
6:04pm Sun 22 Nov 09
davyboy wrote:I agree with everything davyboy has said, but would just like to add my thoughts are also with the train driver, it must be awful for him/her. Hope they get through the tragedy and get back to work. Then there are the emergency services that have to deal with the aftermath. I know it is their job, but it must be pretty awful.
my sympathies to her family. i cannot believe the number of injuries and fatalities recently on the railways. this one is yet to be investigated properly, but the story says she fell under a train at the station. from that i can conclude she must have been very near the edge of the platform as the train arrived. this is a point i make to my kids, that you must stay away from the edge at all stations. there may well have been alcohol involved, which can impair ones senses. once again, sympathies to all involved
antiqasia
says...
7:04pm Sun 22 Nov 09
Jay-kay
says...
8:10pm Sun 22 Nov 09
joycespinks
says...
8:43am Mon 23 Nov 09
Rail companies - there must be a way to prevent this sort of tradegy happening agian - INVEST SOME OF YOUR PROFITS!!
tilburyre
says...
9:04am Mon 23 Nov 09
At stations like Worthing you could, I suppose, keep people off the platform until the train comes in but that is hardly viable at Angmering and, again, the cost of equipping every station would be astronomical. No, we have to rely on people taking some responsibility for their actions even in the ridiculous Nanny State we live in.
brightonneil
says...
10:24am Mon 23 Nov 09
antiqasia
says...
11:26am Mon 23 Nov 09
Hugh Rinall
says...
11:52am Mon 23 Nov 09
SimplePleasures
says...
12:24pm Mon 23 Nov 09
Hugh Rinall wrote:You can't get off the trains whilst they are still moving. Not since slam door trains were eradicated anyway. It seems to me to be a tragic accident however it happened.
Read the story people. She was getting OFF the train (before it had stopped)
My sincere sympathies to her family.
Granny
says...
1:00pm Mon 23 Nov 09
notaconspiracy
says...
1:15pm Mon 23 Nov 09
It doesn't say that the train was moving.
And, as for suggesting that what she was wearing may have contributed...
I really don't think such a tragic story is the place for these smug, if not nasty-minded, comments. Do you?
John Steed
says...
2:14pm Mon 23 Nov 09
as a parent my sincerest thoughts & condolences to the parents, friends and in this case the driver of the train
Turing Test
says...
2:32pm Mon 23 Nov 09
Granny wrote:You just can't resist a sanctimonious remark in even the most tragic cases, can you, Granny? What a useless thing to add to a terribly sad story.
What a dreadful thing to happen. However, reading the story it says the poor young girl was wearing high heels. Seeing some of the youngsters teetering down the road these days in them, all in the name of fashion,I am surprised there are not more accidents. That being said it is is still a very tragic accident.
"However, I gather that you use blue rinse in your hair. Seeing some of the old folk teetering down the road these days with their hair light blue, all in the name of fashion, I am surprised they are not more senile. Apparently the dye rots their brains."
andy1000
says...
3:12pm Mon 23 Nov 09
Alot of people, adults included don't seem to realise just how dangerous the railway can be, during the school rush at Barnham I frequently see school children and adults alike having to be told to get back from the edge by the platform staff.
davyboy
says...
3:25pm Mon 23 Nov 09
Hugh Rinall wrote:i realise what the story says, BUT, this is impossible on the current stock of trains that are being used. i suspect, sadly, that she was running alongside an incoming train, to find a door to get on. it is all very sad, and highlights the need to be VERY careful on stations.
Read the story people. She was getting OFF the train (before it had stopped)
sophielane90
says...
4:05pm Mon 23 Nov 09
sophielane90
says...
4:07pm Mon 23 Nov 09
sophielane90 wrote:*apologies for grammer mistake.
I think more people need to show a lot more respect. whether wearing heels or not, whether she was wearing high heels or not, whether she'd had a few drinks or not, she has lost her life, in an awful tragic way. Thoughts are of course with friends and family, and all who are affected. x
Jay-kay
says...
4:19pm Mon 23 Nov 09
sophielane90 wrote:well said sophie. it just makes me feel so so upset and i didnt even know her, her poor family.
I think more people need to show a lot more respect. whether wearing heels or not, whether she was wearing high heels or not, whether she'd had a few drinks or not, she has lost her life, in an awful tragic way. Thoughts are of course with friends and family, and all who are affected. x
it just makes you feel sick to the stomache how quick a life can be taken , i just wish we could wrap our kids up in cotton wool and keep them safe forever xx
Actually
says...
1:35am Tue 24 Nov 09
joycespinks
says...
11:09am Tue 24 Nov 09
tilburyre wrote:Thank you for making the ammendments to the story.
Perhaps joycespinks would favour us with some ideas of just how train companies could stop this sort of thing from happening? Short of screened off platforms with doors that open when the train stops, a la the new bit of the Jubilee Line and part of the Paris Metro, I can think of nothing that will stop careless people from falling off platforms. And that solution, joycespinks, would eat up far more than their profits. Are you prepared to spend £100 to go to London in order to save a very occasional life? I thought not. At stations like Worthing you could, I suppose, keep people off the platform until the train comes in but that is hardly viable at Angmering and, again, the cost of equipping every station would be astronomical. No, we have to rely on people taking some responsibility for their actions even in the ridiculous Nanny State we live in.
A message to tilburyre...I do not wish to get into some petty debate with you about train fares etc. My view is there is lots of technology out there, and no I am not a technical person! Some sort of sensor on the platforms that would mean the train would come to a halt if there was a breach - the trains will not allow doors to be open whilst in motion so something similar fitted the other side of doors. Most of these tragic incidents happen at rural stations where transport is essential for everyday life - children getting to school etc. I am guessing from your very defensive response you work for a rail company. This young lady was very far from careless, a simple slip led to her life being taken from her.
Tetsugaku-San
says...
12:18pm Tue 24 Nov 09
Jay-kay wrote:You won't let her use a train? well how will she learn then?!
so so sad and tragic, thopughts with her family. I hate my daughter getting trains , I wont let her at night..
It's not hard you know, don't stand in front of the yellow line, don't run, at night, in high heels next to a moving train, it's most certainly a tragic story but it's just as certainly self inflicted.
Maybe if you educate your child properly they won't be next.
yasmin1992
says...
3:08pm Tue 24 Nov 09
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davyboy says...
5:15pm Sun 22 Nov 09