Now the case has formally finished .
A Merseyrail guard has been found guilty of causing the death of a 16-year-old girl who died after falling under a train at a Liverpool station.
Georgia Varley, from Moreton, Wirral, died when she fell between the carriage and platform at James Street station in October 2011.
Christopher McGee, 45, had denied manslaughter but was found guilty at Liverpool Crown Court.
He signalled for the driver to depart as Miss Varley leant against the train.
McGee, of Wallasey, Wirral, was found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence and the jury was then discharged from reaching a verdict in an alternative, lesser charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Miss Varley, a sixth-form college student, had been at a house party before going into Liverpool for a night out with her friends when the tragedy happened on Saturday 22 October last year.
A blood analysis following her death showed she had 236mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood in her system - the legal driving limit is 80mg.
She also had the drug mephedrone in her system at the time of her death.
refurbishment wors are being done at formby station, this includes new windows on the staircases.
(14/11/2012 16:34)wirralbus Wrote: [ -> ]Now the case has formally finished .
A Merseyrail guard has been found guilty of causing the death of a 16-year-old girl who died after falling under a train at a Liverpool station.
Georgia Varley, from Moreton, Wirral, died when she fell between the carriage and platform at James Street station in October 2011.
Christopher McGee, 45, had denied manslaughter but was found guilty at Liverpool Crown Court.
He signalled for the driver to depart as Miss Varley leant against the train.
McGee, of Wallasey, Wirral, was found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence and the jury was then discharged from reaching a verdict in an alternative, lesser charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Miss Varley, a sixth-form college student, had been at a house party before going into Liverpool for a night out with her friends when the tragedy happened on Saturday 22 October last year.
A blood analysis following her death showed she had 236mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood in her system - the legal driving limit is 80mg.
She also had the drug mephedrone in her system at the time of her death.
I wouldn't be too quick off the mark here.
Widely expected to appeal sentence.
There is a LOT wrong with this case, and indeed, Merseyrail's procedures, which will be revealed on Friday, assuming the RAIB still intend to comply with their set dates.
Agreed FC, it seems a little strange, but the raib report will be out Friday. Hopefully shed more light on the situation.
My thoughts are with Chris at this time.
For what it's worth and not speaking as an expert of any sort on this, it does seem awfully harsh on Chris and I hope an appeal is made. My thoughts are with him also. It was a tragic event but I think there is a lot more to be revealed.
Knowing Chris professionally, and knowing how Merseyrail literally through him to the lions at court, I think this case is far from over.
Fortunately a lot of his (ex) Merseyrail colleagues are still supporting him. A few have been attending the trial too.
If this had been a middle aged obsese alcoholic male, I doubt the CPS/BTP would ever have prosecuted. The whole case appears based on "emotions" and the whole spiel the mother is making about her daughter being deliberately targeted and her daughter not doing anything wrong.
Quote:"We have listened as our daughter was portrayed as being a drunken liability when, in all honesty, she did no more than what many teenagers do of a weekend - she went out to celebrate her friend's birthday.
"The only liability that night was a train guard whom Georgia had the catastrophic misfortune to encounter.
3 x the drink drive limit plus illegal drugs plus acting like an idiot on a train is apparently normal 16 year old behaviour!
A lot of things in that BBC article don't add up, we don't see the cctv picture when Chris closes the door and gives the driver 2 on the bell. The picture shows all the door interlock lights are out, but his head is out the local door meaning that he can't have signalled for the train to leave at that point. You can blame merseyrail for the new rules with guards having a poor view of the platform.
Another blame point for merseyrail is the Meols station incident whereby Chris McGee saw the interlock light remain on in the middle carriage. It was said to be the girls foot obstructing the door at Meols, just 2 mins after boarding at Manor Road. Surely Merseyrail must have noticed this on the on train CCTV cameras that send a live feed to control and should have acted upon it? I think that the company is laying on the blame game to Chris who according to a published article is suffering with post traumatic stress? How would you feel if you had an article published about you having stress, then having people calling you scum on pages like Facebook? I would love to meet Chris and offer my support, not being a railway man, but knowing many guards and station managers, I can sympathise with the staff. The company are flawed in the way they treat and deal with their staff.
Although I totally understand the family's upset and my thoughts go out to them, I still thought the statement read out was poor. "We have listened while our daughter was portrayed as a drunken liability." When exactly was she portrayed so? Calling Chris McGee a "liability" is quite unfair considering he has worked for 20 years without incident and wasn't full of drink and drugs at the time.
jtd508110 Wrote:A lot of things in that BBC article don't add up, we don't see the cctv picture when Chris closes the door and gives the driver 2 on the bell. The picture shows all the door interlock lights are out, but his head is out the local door meaning that he can't have signalled for the train to leave at that point. You can blame merseyrail for the new rules with guards having a poor view of the platform.
He could have signalled actually, the cab sliding door doesn't need to be closed in order to signal for departure - in fact, it would be a lot worse if he had given the two bells with the door closed. You need to have the cab door open before and after the passenger doors are opened and closed for obvious safety reasons.
I don't know the full facts presented in court, but this appears outrageous. I have a 16 year old daughter who frequently travels on Merseyrail. She and her friends understand the dangers of railways - they are never drunk when they do so, never to the point of obllteration described here. Merseyrail fail here on several points. Just for starters, where are the procedures for preventing intoxicated passengers from travelling. There were several opportunities for the police to be called to prevent her travelling or removing her after the previous incident on the Wirral. This is such a tragedy for the family, but also for the guard. I could understand corporate manslaughter charges here. But this doesn't bring real justice. I have to say my thoughts tonight are with Chris McGee.
What I am saying is the guards used to give 2, then look out of the door up the platform until the train reached about 10mph. As I understand, this is no longer allowed? I see it where guards ring the bell, then instantly close the local door.