Georgia Varley train fall death: Christopher McGee jailed

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-20339630

In October 2011 a 16-year-old girl named Georgia Varley died when she fell between a train and the platform. Christopher McGee was a railway guard and he signaled the driver to depart the station. Unfortunately Georgia Varley was leaning against the train when it left. The railroad guard should have seen the state of the girl, as she had three times more than the legal amount of alcohol in her blood. The jury found Christopher McGee guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence and he was jailed for five years. The judge said: “[y]our decision and action determined whether Georgia Varley was safe from risk.”


I agree with the jury’s judgment that Christopher McGee was guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence. She was the only one left on the platform, so he should have seen the state of the girl. He could know that it is very dangerous to lean against a train, and the least he could do was warn the girl that it was dangerous. It was not enough just to assume that she was going to get out of the way; it is his job to make sure everyone is safe. I hope that this will be an example for future railway guards, so they know that it is never enough to assume something.