Woman who stuck head out of train window killed by tree branch

Bethan Roper was hit in the head by the branch of an ash tree

A woman died when she was struck by a tree branch, having stuck her head out of a train window, an inquest jury has concluded.

Bethan Roper suffered from fatal head injuries whilst she was a passenger on the Great Western Railway (GWR) train which was travelling at around 75mph.

The 28-year-old from Penarth, South Wales, was returning home on the train to Wales from a Christmas shopping trip to Bath on 1 December 2018.

The GWR London Paddington to Exeter service was using carriages that are fitted with droplight windows. These allow passengers to put their arm through the window to use the handle on the outside when they need to leave the train at the platform.

Investigators told Avon Coroner’s Court that the warning sign located above the window – a yellow sticker with the words: “Caution do not lean out of window when train is moving” – was apparently not a sufficient deterrent to stop Ms Roper from leaning out.

The inquest heard that GWR had previously conducted a risk assessment of its droplight windows. This came following the death of a passenger in south London in August 2016 who had also leaned out of a window of a moving train.

The 2016 risk assessment resulted in a plan to instal enhanced warning signs. These were due to be installed by May 2018 and to have a red background. They had however unfortunately not been installed by the time that Ms Roper was killed seven months later.

Ms Roper was fatally injured when an ash tree branch struck her head just a few minutes after the train left Bath. A post mortem found that she had died from head injuries.

Toxicology tests also revealed that the 28-year-old had a blood alcohol level of 142mg in 100ml of blood, which would indicate she was nearly twice the drink-drive limit.

The tree in question had undergone inspections both in 2009 and in 2012 by Network Rail as part of a five-year cycle to manage trackside vegetation.

It appeared that the tree had been growing on the embankment, located five metres from the track. It later became home to two types of wood decay fungi which had caused some of the branches to rot.

The branch which struck and killed Ms Roper had fallen towards the railway line and was resting on top of a fence on the embankment.

The inquest heard that further inspections may have been able to prevent the tragedy.

Senior coroner for Avon, Maria Voisin, explained that she would not be making a “preventing future deaths” report because the Mk 3 coaches involved are being phased out.

The coaches were first introduced in the 1970s and are being replaced by doors that open and close at the push of an electronic button.

Following five days of evidence, the jury concluded: “Bethan died as a result of an incident onboard a train travelling from Bath to Bristol Temple Meads on 1 December 2018.

“Bethan boarded the train under the influence of alcohol. Despite a warning sign she leant out of a droplight window while the train was moving.

“She was struck by a stem of a tree, sustaining a fatal head injury.”