Train death girl 'had survived serious lorry accident' as a child (From Your Local Guardian)

Train death girl 'had survived serious lorry accident' as a child

10:42am Friday 13th January 2012 in Elmbridge Exclusive By Louise Robertson

A mother who died when she was hit by a train escaped death as a schoolgirl when she was hit by a lorry.

Charlene Pickering, 23, died on Sunday, January 8, after venturing on to train tracks at Wimbledon station, reportedly to pick up her mobile phone.

The mother-of-one, from Walton, died at the scene, but it has been revealed by those close to her that she nearly died years before in a serious accident in Hersham.

When a lorry hit her bicycle in Hersham she was left with a crushed pelvis, it is believed.

Barber Shay Flynn, a friend of the family, said it happened at least 10 years ago, and her injuries were so serious that she was left with a limp.

He said: “It’s dreadful, considering she had such a bad accident before and they nearly lost her, and now this. It’s just shocking.”

The accident, outside the Watermans Arms, at the junction of Queens Road and Burwood Road, left Miss Pickering out of school for a long time.

One Rydens school friend, who did not wish to be named, said: "I remember hearing she had been hit by a lorry or a truck and she was off school for ages. When she came back, she was on crutches."

Roy Green, chairman of Hersham Village Society said the accident happened before the mini roundabout was put in and said he remembered it was a life-threatening accident.