Sergeant struck by train two seconds after order to stay off tracks

Independent

2 days ago

A police sergeant was struck by a train while trying to help a distressed man two seconds after an order was given for officers to stay off the tracks, an inquest has heard.
Nottingham Coroner's Court heard that two trains, which could have been travelling up to 120mph, were coming from both directions before Graham Saville, 46, was fatally injured on the line in Balderton, near Newark, Nottinghamshire, on August 24 2023.
The inquest was told that Sgt Saville, who was based at Newark Police Station, was responding to a concerns about a man, referred to in court as Patient C, who had called emergency services that evening saying he had taken an overdose.
The court heard that an order telling the officers to stay off the line was made by the control room 20 minutes after the first call was made about Patient C going towards the railway line.
But the order was made 'far too late' for officers to get off the track, the inquest heard.
Nottinghamshire coroner Laurinda Bower also told the inquest that there was no successful communication from the police control room to Network Rail asking them to stop the trains until 20 seconds before Sgt Saville was struck.
Police constable Liv Stockdale, who was on duty alongside Sgt Saville and Pc Ben Powell at the time of the incident, gave evidence to the inquest on Tuesday.
Ms Bower said to Pc Stockdale: 'You say, over the radio waves, Patient C is currently stood next to a gate which will lead to a train line. Control room say 'will get on to Network Rail'.
'We can see from the body worn footage at 19.06 hours Patient C starts to climb onto the gate. At 19.07 hours your colleague Sergeant Graham Saville turns on his body worn camera.'
The court heard that Pc Stockdale repeatedly asked the control room to contact Network Rail for the trains to be stopped and said Patient C was 'running down' to the tracks.
The coroner asked: 'Were you reassured by that communication that there was contact with Network Rail to get an urgent stop on the line?'
The witness replied: 'From what I remember, yes.'
The court heard that there was 'very little time' between Sgt Saville arriving at the scene and him instructing Pc Powell to go over the fence, which he did, followed by Sgt Saville and Pc Stockdale.
Pc Stockdale told the inquest: 'When we went down onto the trackside it was more to keep an eye on Patient C because he was running further away from where we were initially stood.'
Ms Bower said: 'At 19.08 hours you put another call out over the radio saying you can see a train in both directions coming. In fairness to you this is a matter of seconds, about 15 seconds, before sadly Graham is struck.'
The inquest heard that the trains travel at around 120 mph and can cover 55 metres per second, which the coroner described as 'incredibly fast, blink of an eye stuff'.
The inquest heard there was an instruction made over the radio at 7.08pm that 'all officers are to stay off the tracks', but this was two seconds before Sgt Saville was hit.
Pc Stockdale said: 'From being down on the trackside, the signal was very intermittent. We were unsure what was actually getting passed to the control room at the time.'
Sgt Saville's Taser record suggests the trigger was pressed at around the same time that Pc Stockdale said she could see the trains coming.
The inquest heard that Sgt Saville's life support was withdrawn five days after he was injured.
The sergeant's wife, Joanne Saville, read a pen portrait to the inquest, in which she called her husband a 'fantastic' father-of-two and a compassionate 'big softy' who was also 'logical, measured, and calm under pressure'.
She added: 'These qualities made him an excellent police officer but also a great person to have in your life.
'Graham never thought of himself as being brave or a hero. He was a policeman who just got on with what needed to be done.
'He loved this job and the challenges he faced every day. We are immensely proud of everything he's done.'
The inquest continues.