Grieving family successfully campaigns for more rail safety crossings
Keenan Matthes' mum Karamea talks about the pain of his death, a year after he was struck by a train.
Parents may surprise their teens with a new Xbox or phone for their 17th birthday.
But for a grieving Auckland mum, she arranged something far more special for her son's birthday.
A new automated rail swing gate was installed at the spot where Keenan Matthes, 16, was killed by a train.
The swing gate was installed just in time for what would have been his 17th birthday.
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It has been a year since Keenan died, but his mum Karamea Matthes said his death was not in vain.
Keenan, 16, was struck by a train at the pedestrian level crossing on Metcalfe Rd on April 20, 2017.
Keenan was listening to music on his earphones and failed to stop as a train approached the level crossing on Metcalfe Rd, near a Rānui train station in April, 2017.
Following his death, Keenan's family campaigned to have automated swing gates installed at all pedestrian level crossings in New Zealand.
Their fight was rewarded when Auckland Transport (AT) and Kiwi Rail installed the first automatic gate in Auckland at Metcalfe Rd, where Keenan died.
Karamea Matthes says her son's death has bought the family even closer together.
"Had the gates been there, Keenan would have ran straight into it and that would have stopped him from crossing over," Matthes said.
"But nothing will bring him back ... it took my son for this to happen but I'm just glad that they've been installed now to prevent anyone else suffering the same fate."
She said the automated swing gates meant no other family would grieve the loss of a loved one there.
The family still felt the pain of losing Keenan.
However, it had bought the family closer together. The achievements of their campaigns, including One Ear Out, kept them going.
"Keenan keeps supporting us, even in death."
Days before the one year anniversary of his death it was announced more safety gates were being installed, she said.
"It's a way of him telling us 'keep going, I'm right behind you, supporting all the way', and we will.
"We won't stop fighting until safety gates are installed across New Zealand."
The swing gates were activated by a sensor on the tracks.
Bells sound, red lights flash, and the gates closed automatically.
Several other automatic gates were being installed around Auckland, including in Glen Eden, Baldwin Ave, Fruitvale Rd and Mt Albert.
Most of these would be operational in May and June.
AT spokesperson Mark Hannan said there had been 18 deaths on the rail corridor in the past five years.
"The last recorded death at a crossing was Keenan Matthes at Rānui on April 20," Hannan said.
Since 2015, there were 112 pedestrian near-misses at level crossings – 40 per cent of which were in West Auckland suburbs.
- Stuff
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