Kent level crossing death: RAIB says lights likely misled driver
Rail accident investigators have found that a delivery driver who died at a manually operated level crossing in Kent was almost certainly led by the crossing's traffic lights to believe it was safe to enter, even though the exit gate was still closed. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB), the body that examines rail accidents in Britain, published its report on 9 November.
The driver was Brandon Hatcher, 23, of Ashford, Kent. He died at the Bax crossing on Lower Road in Teynham, in July 2025, when his van was struck by a passenger train travelling from Ramsgate to London. Hatcher was self-employed and was working for the logistics company GG Logistix, delivering Amazon parcels.
According to The Guardian, Hatcher drove onto the tracks at the crossing apparently without realising he needed to open the exit gate first. He parked across most of the track when the lights turned red and alarms sounded, and opened the exit gate too little to pass on his first attempt. As he returned to his van, the train came into view about 300 metres away, travelling at 90mph. The train driver applied the emergency brake but could not avoid the collision. Three passengers reported minor injuries.
The RAIB found that the traffic light system almost certainly led Hatcher to believe it was safe to enter once the entry gate had been opened, despite the exit gate still being closed. It also found that the training and guidance he had received had not prepared him to use the crossing safely.
Safety inspectors said there was an obvious risk of further tragedy and called for an overhaul of this type of manually operated crossing, where road users open and close the gates by hand. The RAIB has called on Network Rail, the railway infrastructure company, and the Department for Transport, the government department responsible for transport, to review the design, laws and guidance covering this type of crossing.
A second delivery driver, Simon Gettings, 55, was killed in August when a Northern train hit him at a manual crossing in Lancashire. The circumstances of that death are still under investigation.
