An official investigation into the death of an Amazon delivery driver killed by a train has found an 'obvious risk of further tragedy' at the type of manually operated crossing where he died, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has reported.
Brandon Hatcher, 23, of Ashford, Kent, died in July 2025 at the Bax crossing near Teynham after his van was hit by a passenger train travelling from Ramsgate to London. The RAIB report found that the crossing's traffic light system "almost certainly led [the driver] to believe that it was safe to enter the crossing once the entry gate had been opened, despite the exit gate still being closed".
Hatcher was self-employed, working on behalf of the logistics company GG Logistix to deliver Amazon parcels. The RAIB concluded that the training and guidance provided to him "had not prepared him to use the crossing safely". He drove his van across most of the track and was parked when the lights turned red and alarms sounded to indicate an approaching train. He opened the exit gate but not enough to pass at the first attempt, and was returning to the door of his van when the Southeastern train, travelling at 90mph, came within view 300 metres away. The train driver applied the emergency brake but could not avoid the fatal collision. Three passengers reported minor injuries.
The report comes as another delivery driver, Simon Gettings, 55, was killed in a similar incident at a manual crossing in Lancashire in August, the circumstances of which remain under investigation. Andrew Hall, the chief inspector of rail accidents, described private user-worked crossings as a 19th-century concept operating in a 21st-century world of faster rail services, more rural housing and abundant home deliveries. He urged the rail industry and the Department for Transport (DfT) "to find effective ways to mitigate this obvious risk before there is further tragedy".
David Davidson, the chief operating officer for South Eastern Railway, said the company's "thoughts remain with the family and loved ones of Brandon Hatcher". He stated that changes have been made to the layout of the site and a toolkit with guidance on this type of crossing for professional road drivers has been published. The rail regulator, ORR, said it would "ensure lessons are learned and improvements made to protect crossing users, passengers and railway staff".
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The RAIB's finding of an 'obvious risk' puts the rail industry and government under pressure to redesign or replace these manually operated crossings to prevent further fatalities.
- The case highlights a potential safety gap in gig-economy delivery, where self-employed drivers may not receive the site-specific hazard training that directly employed logistics staff would.
- With a second delivery driver already dead in a near-identical scenario, the safety of the millions of home deliveries that rely on unclassified roads is under scrutiny.
Background
The Bax crossing near Teynham, Kent, is a manually operated, user-worked crossing. Unlike modern automatic crossings with barriers, users must open both gates and check the line themselves. The RAIB report found that the crossing's specific traffic light system inadvertently made the process more dangerous by misleading the driver about when it was safe to enter. The driver was working for a subcontractor in Amazon's delivery network, a model that places responsibility for training on smaller logistics firms.
Key Perspectives
- RAIB / Andrew Hall: The crossing design creates an "obvious risk" of further tragedy. The traffic light system was misleading, and the driver's training did not prepare him for the crossing. Argues that these 19th-century crossings are fundamentally ill-suited to the modern transport environment of faster trains and high delivery volumes.
- David Davidson / Southeastern Railway: Expresses condolences to Hatcher's family. Confirms that immediate layout changes have been made to the site and a professional driver guidance toolkit has been published. States the company will study the report's recommendations and work with the industry to prevent future accidents.
- Office of Rail and Road (ORR): Commits to ensuring "lessons are learned and improvements made" to protect crossing users, passengers, and railway staff.
What to Watch
- The conclusions of the separate RAIB investigation into the death of Simon Gettings at a manual crossing in Lancashire in August.
- Whether Network Rail and the DfT follow through on the RAIB's call for a formal review of the design, laws, and guidance for user-worked crossings.
- How Amazon and its delivery partners respond to the findings, particularly regarding driver training and route safety assessments for subcontractors.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 9 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedThe headline says safety inspectors warned of an obvious risk of further tragedy at the type of crossing where the Amazon driver died.World news | The Guardian: “Safety inspectors said there was “an obvious risk of further tragedy”, with a second similar fatal event still being investigated, and called for an overhaul of this type of crossing.”
- SupportedThe summary says the RAIB found that the traffic lights almost certainly led the driver to believe the crossing was safe to enter.World news | The Guardian: “the Rail Accident Investigation Branch report found that the traffic light system “almost certainly led [the driver] to believe that it was safe to enter the crossing once the entry gate had been opened, despite the exit gate still being closed”.”
- SupportedThe summary says the RAIB called for an overhaul of this type of crossing.World news | The Guardian: “Safety inspectors said there was “an obvious risk of further tragedy”, with a second similar fatal event still being investigated, and called for an overhaul of this type of crossing.”
- Not in the sourcesThe driver died in July 2025.World news | The Guardian: “The van driver, Brandon Hatcher, 23, of Ashford, Kent , died at the Bax crossing near Teynham after being hit by a passenger train from Ramsgate to London in July last year.”
- SupportedThe report says the traffic light system almost certainly led Hatcher to believe it was safe to enter once the entry gate was open, despite the exit gate remaining closed.World news | The Guardian: “the traffic light system “almost certainly led [the driver] to believe that it was safe to enter the crossing once the entry gate had been opened, despite the exit gate still being closed”.”
- Partly supportedHatcher opened the exit gate but could not pass through on his first attempt, then was returning to his van when the train came into view.World news | The Guardian: “He opened the exit gate but not sufficiently to pass at the first attempt, tried again and was returning to the door of his van when the Southeastern train, travelling at 90mph, came within view 300 metres away.”
- SupportedThe train was travelling at 90mph and came into view 300 metres away.World news | The Guardian: “the Southeastern train, travelling at 90mph, came within view 300 metres away.”
- SupportedThree passengers reported minor injuries.World news | The Guardian: “Three train passengers reported minor injuries.”
- SupportedThe RAIB concluded that the training and guidance provided to Hatcher had not prepared him to use the crossing safely.World news | The Guardian: “the RAIB found that the signage “did not sufficiently consider how diverse information sources may influence crossing user behaviour”. It said the training and guidance provided to the delivery driver, who was self-employed but working on behalf of a logistics company, GG Logistix, delivering Amazon parcels, “had not prepared him to use the crossing safely”.”
- SupportedSimon Gettings, 55, died in a similar incident at a manual crossing in Lancashire in August, and the circumstances remain under investigation.World news | The Guardian: “Another delivery driver was also killed when hit by a Northern train at a manual crossing in Lancashire in August. The circumstances of the death of Simon Gettings, 55, remain under investigation.”
- Partly supportedAndrew Hall called private user-worked crossings a 19th-century concept in a 21st-century world of faster rail services, more rural housing and abundant home deliveries.World news | The Guardian: ““Private user worked crossings are a 19th-century concept operating in a 21st century world of more dense, faster rail services, more rural housing and abundant home deliveries.””
- SupportedDavid Davidson said the company had changed the site layout and published a toolkit with guidance for professional road drivers.World news | The Guardian: ““We have already made changes to the layout of the site and we have published a toolkit with guidance on this type of crossing for professional road drivers.””