Disturbing footage has surfaced of a joyrider risking their life and standing between carriages on a moving tram – after a teenage girl was killed by the light rail overnight.
The 16-year-old girl died after she was dragged 200m across George Street in Haymarket, in Sydney’s CBD, close to midnight on Wednesday evening.
Witnesses told Daily Mail Australia the girl had tried to cross the tracks between two carriages while the tram was stopped at a red light near the light rail stop in Chinatown.
When the tram suddenly started moving, she became trapped under one of the carriages and was dragged up the road before the driver came to a stop.
She could not be revived and police are investigating just how the incident occurred.
The tragedy has thrown a spotlight on safety issues surrounding the light rail – with video emerging showing a thrillseeker joyriding on the connection between the light rail late last year.
It comes amongst a backdrop of historic warnings from unions that the light rail could be deadly – given it runs down George St, one of Australia’s most congested pedestrian thoroughfares.
A video, from last November, showed a thrillseeker standing in between two carriages and leaning against the nose of one of the vehicles.
He waves at a witness as the tram passes through Sydney.
There have long been concerns about the safety of the light rail – with the NSW Government campaigning to raise awareness about the dangers of the tram system.
Three years ago, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union expressed concern about the newly-built system.
The union’s bus and tram division secretary David Babineau claimed there were inherent dangers with operating trams through high density areas of a major city.
Mr Babineau went as far to say the construction of the network was ‘botched’ at the time of its commencement.
He said at the time that the new trams were ’67m long carrying more people than an aircraft and you are sharing space with everyone under the sun’.
‘You can’t contain the amount of people using their phones, delivery drivers, cyclists and other (pedestrians),’ he told the Sunday Telegraph.
There had been numerous close-calls while the trams were being tested along the new route involving cyclists, motorists and pedestrians.
One teenage boy suffered minor head injuries after being hit by a tram at Moore Park, an area that Mr Babineau specified as a particularly dangerous area.
‘Being unresponsive to proposed safety changes is going to look pretty piss poor when someone gets injured,’ Mr Babineau said at the time.
Then, the NSW Government implemented safety messages related to trams, including ‘Heads Up, Play it Safe around Light Rail’ and ‘Be aware, there’s a tram there’.
The video, from November last year, shows a joyrider standing on a small space between carriages and waving at a camera while the tram was moving (pictured)
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The 16-year-old girl died after sustaining serious injuries trying to cross through the gap between carriages before being dragged under for two hours
The government has since expanded on safety messages surrounding trains, such as advising pedestrians to ‘cross at designated crossings and intersections where available, and always look both ways’.
They had also lowered speed limits and installed extra signage for pedestrians and cyclists along routes.
However, tram-related accidents have continued to occur in high density areas.
In May of last year, a man aged in his 30s suffered head injuries after being struck by the light rail near Bourke Street in Surry Hills.
While as far back as 2009, a man had become trapped under a tram for 20 minutes at the corner of Hay and Pitt St just a stone’s throw away from Wednesday’s incident.
What witnesses saw today
Witnesses told Daily Mail Australia the girl had tried to cross the tracks between two carriages when the tram was stopped at a red light at the near the light rail stop in Chinatown.
When the tram suddenly started moving, she became trapped under one of the carriages and was dragged up the road before the driver came to a stop.
Police and fire crews battled for nearly two hours to free the girl from the tracks, but she later died at the scene.
The Bus and Tram division secretary of the RTBU warned in 2019 of the dangers of trams in high density areas as they are ‘were sharing space with everyone under the sun’
Mohammed Aqil Abdulla, 29, was working the Wednesday night shift at TSG Tobacco Station near the Chinatown stop when he heard terrifying screams.
‘The tram dragged her from the lights to the next platform, roughly 200metres,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘She was stuck in between the compartments.’
Mr Abdulla said he had heard the girl had attempted to cross between carriages when the tram was stationary at traffic lights.
‘The driver wouldn’t have seen her.’
The shopkeeper added: ‘She was just 16. I feel sorry for her family, it’s so sad.
When asked to to comment, a spokesperson for the NSW Rail, Tram and Bus Union wished the family and friends of the teenager their deepest condolences.
Transport for NSW Secretary Howard Collins echoed the same sentiment, writing in a statement: ‘Everyone at Transport for NSW is saddened by the death of a teenage girl at a light rail stop in central Sydney overnight’.
‘We extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends and loved ones,’ the statement reads.
‘We thank emergency services, staff and anyone who rendered assistance for their efforts last night and we will provide our staff with the support they need.’
