Young mum dies

A WORTHING family has been stunned by the death of young mum Hayley Owen, electrocuted as she tried to cross a railway line.

Hayley, 23, of Littlehampton Road, Salvington, was killed at 3.45am on Saturday morning as she tried to cross the railway line at Drayton level crossing in Chichester at the end of a night out with friends.

Her grieving mother, Cynthia Owen, of Chester Avenue, East Worthing, spoke to the Worthing Herald the day after identifying her daughter's body at St Richard's Hospital, Chichester.

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Mrs Owen, 47, said : "We are just so devastated by what has happened. We are trying to get on with things the best we can, but it comes in waves '” one minute we're all right and the next we're breaking down. You certainly never expect your kids to go before you do."

Former Davison School girl Hayley, who lived with her two-year-old son Kieran, had been celebrating a friend's birthday at Thursdays nightclub, which is near the level crossing. It was the first time Hayley had ever been to the club.

At the end of the night, Hayley started to walk away from her friends and head towards the crossing, despite them screaming out to her to come back because their lift home had arrived.

Her friends say she was trying to cross the line to get to the other side of the road, but she fell onto the live rail and man with the group also tried to move Hayley, but didn't succeed.

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"If they had been successful, we would have had three deaths on our hands," said Mrs Owen.

Richard Sellick, Hayley's boyfriend, was babysitting their son Kieran at the time of the tragedy, but he did speak to her on her mobile at 3.30am.

Just 15 minutes later, he had a call from a friend with Hayley to say she was on some rails. Believing she was alive and had just hurt herself on some railings, he bundled Kieran into the car, picked up Mrs Owen and they frantically headed off to Chichester.

Mrs Owen phoned Hayley's friend while in the car near Arundel, but a police officer at the scene in Chichester grabbed the phone and told them to turn the car round and head home '” they still had no idea Hayley was dead.

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The first they knew Hayley wouldn't be coming back home was at 4.45am, when the police turned up at Mrs Owen's home to break the news.

Mrs Owen said: "I thought she was still alive. When the police told us she was dead we just started screaming. We were devastated and in total shock."

Richard has taken Kieran to Bristol for a few days, but he has been asking for his mummy.

Mrs Owen said: "How do we explain it to him? He has asked for her and we are going to get together to come up with something to tell him. We may say she is up with the stars."

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Mrs Owen and the family are now calling for something to be done to make the crossing safer '” before a tragedy like this happens to another family.

She said: "Something needs to be done at that crossing. The club is right near it and there are street lights, but they are not left on for the people coming out of the club.

"There are some taxis which wait outside, but once they have gone there's no way of getting home.

"Hayley had been drinking and I just wish these kids would realise what drinking can do."

An investigation has been launched by British Transport Police.

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