(The initial article the Record published yesterday (24 November) about the man who was hit by a train at Florida Railway Station was based on information received from the police while they were on the scene. A source has now come forward saying the information is incorrect and the headline insensitive. With serious incidents, such as the one in question, the Record usually regards the police’s information as the credible source.)
According to a source close to the family of the man who perished after he was hit by a train at Florida Railway Station, the man died due to the negligence of the security guards at the station.
In an email he sent to the Record, he wrote, “This man is my neighbour and my friend. He was not mentally disturbed and he was not in his 30s. He was mentally sound, sane and he was 25 years old. The security guards were having a conversation with him (he was sent to buy razors from Shoprite) and they left him to pass by the first time. It was on his return that he was bumped by the train.
“He was aware of the train but [did] not [see] the second train, the security guard told his father. He would never risk his life. Those guards distracted him. Why didn’t they do their job and arrest him? They don’t arrest anyone who crosses the railway. They obviously need to keep their part clean and that’s why they said they warned him not to cross and that he would regularly risk his life, which was not the case – rightfully they should have arrested him.
“On 30 June a woman was bumped at the exact same spot where he passed away. Those guards need to do their job and arrest people who cross there illegally. I pass by there daily (over the bridge, not the railway) and they sit on the concrete blocks and allow everyone to pass by without any fault. They need to be investigated,” the source concluded.
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Commuters witness man being hit by train
Man found murdered at Witpoortjie train station
