Boy Killed At Beamish Museum Named

23 July 2012, 12:22 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

A 7 year old boy who died at Beamish Museum in County Durham's been named as Karl Doran.

He died after being involved in an incident with a steam traction engine and trailer which was being driven along a road adjacent to the railway line in the museum.

Karl lived with his parents in Darlington.

A post mortem carried out last night showed he died from a head injury.

The steam traction engine was being driven by Karl's dad, 41-year-old Phillip Doran.

Mr Doran was taken to hospital suffering from shock immediately after the incident but has since been able to speak to police.

Karl and his dad were both steam enthusiasts and often went along to Beamish to volunteer.

Richard Evans, the museum director, said today:
"We continue to support the joint investigation and offer our deep condolences to Karl's family."

DCI Victoria Fuller, who is leading the joint investigation, said today:
"We are treating this as a tragic incident and are working with our colleagues in the Health and Safety Executive to establish the exact circumstances.

We have already spoken to a number of witnesses but need to speak to some key people who may have been on a bus or tram which passed the traction engine around the time of the incident which occurred at around 3pm."

Beamish Museum has reopened today following Karl's death.

In a statement they've said:
"The safety of our visitors and staff is our top priority.

The decision to open today was taken after consultation with Durham Police and the Health and Safety Executive.

This tragic accident involved a steam roller and all road steam has been suspended until completion of the investigation.

The Museum is aware of many people planning to travel a long distance to visit today and felt it should open so as not to disappoint these people.

Our thoughts remain with the family, and we thank everyone for their kind words."