Man killed by train 'was looking for drugs'

A Lisburn man was believed to be searching for drugs hidden at the side of a railway line when he was struck by a train and killed, a coroner said at an inquest today.

Sean Duffy had been drinking heavily before leaving his home on the Antrim town’s Knockmore Estate early on a December morning in 2005 and walking to his death.

The 20-year-old’s mother Jacqueline Duffy, told the Belfast inquest her son left the house at about 6.30am. “He said he had to go and do something”.

She said he was his normal self “neither sad nor happy” when he left and she was sure his death shortly afterwards was an accident.

Mrs Duffy said Sean had become what she called “a regular drug user” – mainly cannabis – and she revealed he used to hide drugs on the trackside.

Northern Ireland Railways train driver Desmond Wilson said he had left Central Station in Belfast at 6.50 that morning and had just gone around a corner approaching Knockmore Halt at 50mph when he noticed something on the line.

He said: “It was still dark. As I came around the corner I saw what appeared to be a black bag ahead. Suddenly it moved and I realised someone was on the track.”

Mr Wilson said he had no time to do anything before he struck Mr Duffy. “I had no chance whatsoever to sound the alarm.”

He said having people on the track was sometimes a problem around Knockmore Halt and along the line at Finaghy.

“Some people use it as a short cut, some play chicken, some put debris on the line, young children go on to annoy drivers.

“It seems to be a playground for certain people,” he said.

The inquest heard the dead man had a drink problem and owed money to a drug dealer at the time of his death.

However coroner John Leckey said he did not believe the death was a case of suicide.

A post mortem exam revealed a level of alcohol close to three times the drink-drive limit, together with traces of cannabis, he said.

Mr Leckey said: “Someone completely sober might have been in a much better state to escape and get out of the way of the train than Sean was.”

He recorded the young man died from multiple injuries after being hit by the train and that breaking to avoid a collision had been completely impossible for the driver.

Mr Leckey said: “There is no evidence that his death was other than an accident. It was known he hid drugs at the side of the railway track and it is believed he was on the track to access these.”