A Safety Reminder Issued After Toddler Slips Through Gap Between Train and Platform

A grandfather has recalled the horrifying moment his grandson slipped through the gap of a train and platform at Cronulla Station as a video of the incident has been released.

John Brewster thought it was just an ordinary day in January last year until something terrifying happened.

He, his wife, his grandchildren — his then-four-year-old granddaughter and two-and-a-half-year-old grandson, Ayden — had just enjoyed an ice cream and were boarding a train at Cronulla Station when Ayden suddenly disappeared.

Ayden had fallen between the train and the platform and was lying on the tracks. “It happened that bloody quick. We were running because it was raining, we’d had an ice cream then we were taking the train because Ayden loves trains,” he said.

Panic-stricken, Mr Brewster and his wife screamed for help before Mr Brewster reached down, grabbed Ayden by his hands and pulled him to safety.

CCTV footage of the 2016 incident, which was released yesterday by Sydney trains, has brought back Mr Brewster’s unforgettable experience. “It took years off my life. I’ll never forget it,” he told 9news.com.au. “I look at those gaps now and just shake my head and it runs through my mind. I really do hope people are truly aware of it. He could’ve hit his chin on the train and broken his neck, and this would be very different.”

Now, Sydney trains has released the footage as a reminder to parents to be extremely cautious with children on platforms.

“I’m not shying away from it. I was negligent. It was raining, I should’ve picked him up. I should’ve done this and that, well dead right. But I’m astounded they haven’t found a way to resolve it,” Mr Brewster said, adding that his granddaughter was traumatised by the incident.

More than 220 children have fallen beneath trains last year alone, and luckily, none were killed.

Transport minister Andrew Constance told the Daily Telegraph the government wanted to renew the message “that parents need to be more vigilant. It will only be a matter of time before we see a serious accident,” he said.

Source: 9news.com.au