Barking: Go-kart company fined after schoolgirl death

Ruwaida Adan died in hospital four days after the incident

A go-kart company has been fined almost £120,000 after a schoolgirl was strangled by her headscarf and died.

Ruwaida Adan, 15, died in hospital four days after she visited Capital Karts in Barking, east London, on a day out organised by a Newham youth group on 6 August 2021.

Her hijab got caught in a go-kart and wound itself around a drive axle.

The company had failed to complete pre-safety checks on the day, an investigation found.

Ruwaida was resuscitated at the venue but died in hospital of hypoxic brain injury and asphyxiation.

The schoolgirl, from Newham, was described by her mother as a "beacon of kindness" with the "sweetest soul".

• Girl fatally choked by hijab on go-kart

Capital Karts Trading, which operates under Capital Karts, was ordered to pay a fine of £90,000, costs of £29,021.18 and a victim surcharge of £190, following sentencing on 3 April at Romford Magistrates' Court.

The company had pleaded guilty to an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act on 14 March.

Faulty kart

A Barking and Dagenham Council investigation found none of the karts had undergone pre-racing checks, which were supposed to happen daily, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

After closer examination of the kart Ruwaida was driving, it was found to be faulty.

It was missing a guard that should have covered the rotating rear axle gear and drive belt, which her headscarf got caught in.

The council's investigation found the guard may have been missing "for some time" and Ruwaida's kart might not have been checked by a mechanic for more than a month.

Ruwaida had been taking part in a youth scheme day out at the karting track

Capital Karts' health and safety policy and procedures stated "loose clothing" should be removed, however Ruwaida was not told to remove her headscarf and wore a balaclava and a helmet over the top of her hijab.

The council found that there was no mention of removing loose clothing or tying back long hair during the pre-race briefing given to the party.

The council's health and safety officers found that while there were appropriate safety procedures in the company's health and safety documentation, Capital Karts failed to make sure and to monitor that the rules were consistently implemented.

'Not enough was done'

Gary Jones, operational director for enforcement, regulatory and community safety at the council, called Ruwaida's death heartbreaking and said he hoped her family could have "some kind of closure".

"It's clear that not enough was done to prevent this tragic accident and I welcome the result of this case," he said.

"I hope this sends a strong message to similar businesses on how important it is that they implement measures to ensure that something like this never happens again."

A spokesperson for Capital Karts previously said they were "deeply shocked and saddened" by Ruwaida's death.

"We cooperated fully with the authorities in their investigation and reviewed all of our safety procedures following the accident," they said.

Capital Karts' Barking site closed in June 2022. It is now operating at Cabot Square in Canary Wharf under Capital Karts London Limited, another company within the same group.

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