Boy, 14, killed by train ‘joked with friends before tragic accident’

A schoolboy killed on train tracks was seen joking with friends moments before he died in a “tragic accident”, it was claimed today.

Sam Connor, 14, was struck by a train after stepping onto tracks at Chertsey station, in Surrey, in front of up to 50 fellow pupils on Monday afternoon.

Some of his Year 9 classmates at Salesian School claimed the teenager had been bullied, but other friends today denied the reports. It was suggested that Sam could have strayed onto the electrified line as “a joke”.

Witnesses saw him hand a backpack to a friend before he went onto the tracks.

A source said: “It is categorically untrue that Sam was bullied. He had a lovely group of friends who he was very close with. They were with him on Monday and are absolutely devastated.

He was joking with them as teenage boys do. It’s a terrible accident and not deliberate. Sam was a quiet boy but popular and well liked. He was never in trouble and he and his friends were video gamers who enjoyed a laugh and a joke.”

The school said there was “no record” of Sam, who also enjoyed breakdancing, having been bullied while attending the Roman Catholic school.

Executive headteacher James Kibble wrote to parents in a letter seen by the Standard. He said: “Some parents will understandably be worried about the references to bullying that have been made relating to this incident.

“However, you should know that the police and the local authority are currently carrying out separate investigations and safeguarding reviews and we are confident that bullying will not be an issue that is raised when the reports are published.”

Pupils were said to have fled the station in terror after the incident at 4pm on Monday. One parent said: “My son was at the station when it happened. He said the boy handed his backpack to a friend and went onto the tracks. There were lots of pupils on the platform and no adults so you can imagine they just wanted to run away.”

Floral tributes have been placed at the station entrance. Police yesterday helped youngsters there get safely onto trains.

A friend of Sam wrote on Facebook: “The crying with happiness, the laughs, the dancing will never be the same without you. Hope you’re still dancing out there in the skies. Rest in peace Sam you absolute legend.”

A spokesman for British Transport Police, whose officers were called to the scene, said: “Paramedics also attended and sadly a person was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner.”

• The Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or at jo@samaritans.org