'Drugs taken' in teen rail death

Friends of the teenager laid flowers where he was killed

A teenager who died after falling under a train and being struck by a second had taken drink and drugs, an inquest has heard.

Andrew James Fisher, 17, from Bangor was fatally injured at Helen's Bay railway station on the Belfast to Bangor line on 16 April 2004.

The jury found there were no apparent defects in Translink's systems.

However, they made a number of recommendations in an effort to prevent similar incidents happening again.

A pathologist's report said that when Mr Fisher was killed he had alcohol, ecstasy and cannabis in his system.

The jury said the mixture of drugs and alcohol in his system had impaired his judgement and led to the accident.

'Recommendations'

But they also said some reasonable precautions by Translink could have prevented the accident - including CCTV cameras, security staff and a method to enable employees to watch the side of the track as trains moved out of stations.

In a statement welcoming the jury's findings, Translink said it would give consideration to the recommendations.

"We have noted the jury's recommendations regarding other actions that may be taken and will give them our due consideration," it said.

"No amount of precautions will prevent accidents until all members of the public cooperate and support safety measures we put in place."

A friend said Andrew Fisher had been running alongside the train after seeing a good looking girl on it just before 2300 BST.

He said the teenager jumped against the train, but fell under it about 10ft from the end of the platform, and was dragged up the track.

Another friend told how he ran to help and found that Mr Fisher was still alive but that one of his legs had been cut off.

Several people tried to pull him off the tracks but he was struck by a second train and died a short time later.

The driver of that train told the inquest how he had tried to put on the emergency brakes, but he could not stop the train.

He said he then put his head in his hands because he could not bear to watch what would happen.

The Coroner's Court was told that separate investigations by both the Health and Safety Executive and the transport company, Translink, had not found any fault with the railway.

The Bangor student regularly met and drank with friends at the train station.

His mother, Sylvia, described her son as a happy teenager.

She said she knew Andrew had sampled alcohol but that she had no idea that he or his friends had taken illegal drugs.

A statement issued by the family said they were still devastated by his death.