A family whose son was killed in a train accident wants no one else to go through what they have.
Keenan Matthes died in 2017 after being struck by a train in Ranui, west Auckland, while wearing headphones. A coroner's report, released on Friday, found the 16-year-old had no drugs or alcohol in his system and appeared to be completely unaware there was a train approaching.
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Keenan's mum Karamea Matthes says she is fighting for others.
"I won't ever stop pushing for safety in order to ensure people are safe when they're going from one side of the tracks to another."
The report came with no recommendations as safety changes had already been made at the west Auckland crossing where Keenan was hit.
Karamea told Newshub it's a shame similar incidents didn't lead to more safety features being put in place earlier.
"If we knew that back in 2015 that a safety gate or grade separation would have prevented such accidents, why didn't they carry it out right across all pedestrian level crossings?"
She wants to see gates or grade separations installed across all level crossings. An electronic gate was installed at the crossing where Keenan was killed in 2018, with a further 40 since installed at other crossings.
Four level pedestrian crossings have since been shut, while a further nine are planned to close.
Newshub.
