A 14-year-old boy has ended his life after being ‘bullied’ at school.
Sam Connor was instantly killed by a train when he laid down on railway track in front of his 50 classmates. The dreadful incident took place at Chertsey railway station in Surrey.
The family of Sam Connor is devastated by the incident.
“He was a sensitive little soul, a cute little thing who was into gaming,” Sam’s step-mom Deborah Barrett said of the boy.
“He was funny and sarcastic with a great sense of humor. Although he was shy, we used to be able to make him laugh,” she told MailOnline.
“My three girls are Sam’s half sisters, they are all so upset. They loved him, they were all quite close.”
“There were six kids altogether, they are all quite close, the children, and Sam was the youngest,” added Deborah, the first wife of Sam’s dad.
Sam had been described by his friends as ‘a nice kid with a good sense of humor.’
The mother of one of Sam’s friends said: “When I got the emails and texts from the school telling me what had happened I just burst into tears.
“I spoke with my daughters when they came home about what had happened. They said it was Sam and said everyone was talking about him being bullied.
“If this is true there has to be an investigation. How bad can it be that a 14-year-old boy wants to take his own life. I just cannot comprehend what he must have been feeling.”
Sam, who is called a popular and bright teen by his fellows, was a student of Salesian School – a Roman Catholic Comprehensive Secondary School in Chertsey, Surrey.
Before getting on the track, the young boy handed over his mobile phone and bag to a friend. And just the next minute, his classmates saw him being hit by the train.
The tragedy horrified the students, the passengers, and the passersby. There was a grave silence at the moment followed by woeful sobs of Sam’s friends.
Lewis, a 28-year-old witness who was traveling in the train from Chiswick, told MailOnline: “The train stopped very suddenly with only one carriage alongside the platform.
“I thought maybe one of the kids had dropped their phone as they were all looking down at the wheels of the carriage.
“We saw some of the girls starting to cry; we saw some of the boys leaning down, literally on their knees, calling down between the train and the tracks, calling ‘Sam, Sam.’
“That’s when we realized something was wrong. There was a girl on phone, crying, trying to talk to the driver.
“They were all looking down, whatever they saw must have been horrific.”
Lewis, who rides daily with the school children to arrive at his workplace, told the outlet that he immediately called the school teachers upon realizing that the children belonged to Salesian School.
He told the outlet that the passengers were ordered to stay on the train for half an hour while the paramedics, the train staff and the police were handling the incident.
“What was particularly harrowing was there was a student paramedic who passed through the train and down on the tracks to help the boy.
“When she got down there she collapsed and burst into tears – it was just the most harrowing thing,” Lewis said.
The little fellows who used to chatter loudly in the train were all quite that day.
Lewis said: “We complain how noisy the children are normally but on that day it was just totally silent – I am just really shocked.”
A shopkeeper running a store near Sam’s house expressed his feelings by saying: “He was always so polite and a really lovely lad. I just can’t believe what has happened.”
Sam’s fellows from break-dancing class said he was remarkably ‘nicest and charming’ boy.
After the incident, one of his friends posted on Facebook: “Cannot think of an emotion to describe how I am right now apart from heartbroken.”
Sam’s friends have revealed that he used to worry about his grades and the GCSE exam.
But parents of his classmates claim that Sam was victimized and bullied at school, who learned it from their children.
A school’s spokesperson, however, is insisting that there is no record of Sam being bullied, and that no further comments can be made before the police have investigated the matter.
James Kibble, the school’s executive headteacher, sent a condolence letter to Sam’s family, stating: “This is an incredibly difficult situation but knowing the faith, compassion and strength of our school community, I am confident that we will work together to support one another.”
A representative for British Transport Police said: “Paramedics also attended but sadly a 14-year-old boy was pronounced dead at the scene. His family have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers.
“The incident is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner.”