Death of police sergeant hit by train was 'wholly preventable' coroner says

CALL TO NETWORK RAIL TO WARN OF PEOPLE ON THE TRACKS CAME 'TOO LATE FOR ANY EVASIVE ACTION'

- By STEPHANIE WAREHAM, PA

THE death of a police sergeant who was hit by a train while trying to help a vulnerable man on a railway line was “wholly preventable’, a coroner has ruled.

Sergeant Graham Saville, 46, who worked for Nottinghamshire Police, was on the line in Balderton, near Newark, on August 24, 2023, when he was hit by a train travelling at up to 125mph.

Nottingham Coroner's Court heard that officers attending the incident with Sgt Saville repeatedly told a police dispatcher that the distressed man, referred to in court as Patient C, was near the railway line that evening.

Coroner Laurinda Bower has ruled that his death was “probably more than minimally” contributed to by a delay in the force’s control room contacting Network Rail to tell them there were people on the line. Ms Bower said “there were multiple missed opportunities’ by his employer which meant that Sgt Saville “died what was a wholly preventable death".

She said the call came “too late for any evasive action” to be taken by Network Rail, and had a warning been issued by the rail company to its drivers that there could be people on the track, Sgt Saville may not have been killed.