Key facts
- The RAIB said the traffic light system almost certainly led the driver to believe it was safe to enter with the exit gate closed.
- The report said the guidance given to Hatcher, delivering Amazon parcels for GG Logistix, had not prepared him to use the crossing safely.
- The RAIB called on Network Rail and the Department for Transport to review the design, laws and guidance for these crossings.
- A second delivery driver, Simon Gettings, 55, was killed at a manual crossing in Lancashire in August, and that death is still under investigation.
An Amazon delivery driver was killed by a train after he drove his van onto railway tracks at a manually operated level crossing without apparently realizing he needed to open the exit gate first, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch said in a report published November 9, 2026.
Brandon Hatcher, 23, of Ashford, Kent, died at the Bax crossing near Teynham after being hit by a Southeastern passenger train traveling from Ramsgate to London in July 2025. The train was traveling at 90 mph and the driver came within view 300 meters away, the report said. The train driver applied the emergency brake but could not avoid the collision, and three passengers reported minor injuries.
The report found the traffic light system at the crossing "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 had driven his van across most of the track and was parked when the lights turned red and alarms sounded. He opened the exit gate but not far enough to pass on the first attempt, tried again, and was returning to the door of his van when the train came into view, according to the report.
The RAIB said the redesigned signage "did not sufficiently consider how diverse information sources may influence crossing user behaviour." It said the training and guidance given to Hatcher, who was self-employed but delivering Amazon parcels on behalf of logistics company GG Logistix, "had not prepared him to use the crossing safely." The branch called on Network Rail and the Department for Transport to review the design, laws and guidance for this type of crossing.
A second delivery driver, Simon Gettings, 55, was killed by a Northern train at a manual crossing in Lancashire in August 2026, and the circumstances of his death remain under investigation. Andrew Hall, chief inspector of rail accidents, said both accidents could have had serious consequences for people on board because a train can be derailed by striking a delivery van. He described private user worked crossings as "a 19th-century concept operating in a 21st century world" and urged the rail industry and the DfT to find ways to mitigate the risk.
The rail regulator, ORR, said it would "ensure lessons are learned and improvements made to protect crossing users, passengers and railway staff." David Davidson, chief operating officer for South Eastern Railway, said thoughts remained with Hatcher's family and loved ones. He said the company had already changed the layout of the site and published guidance for professional road drivers, and would continue working with the industry to help prevent similar accidents.