Toddler's Tragic Death in Driveway Accident Detailed at Inquest
A two-year-old toddler was killed in a devastating accident after being run over by a family friend's car because he was so excited to see her, an inquest has heard. The tragic incident occurred in Marlborough, Wiltshire, last May, with details emerging at Wiltshire and Swindon Coroner's Court.
Excited Toddler Runs Behind Vehicle
Rufus Davies was visiting family friends with his mother, Olivia Davies, when the accident unfolded. According to a written statement from Mrs Davies, they were waiting for their friend Tasmin Haward to arrive in the driveway. "I told Rufus that Tamsin had arrived and he was so excited to see her, he wriggled to get out of the car," Mrs Davies explained. She opened the driver's door and helped him down, expecting Mrs Haward to park straight in.
"He ran round the back of the car," Mrs Davies continued. "I figured Tamsin would park the nose of her car straight in next to mine and that in the time between his feet touching the ground and running behind my car she would have parked. It turns out she wanted to reverse her car in." Moments later, Mrs Davies heard her daughter say, "Mummy, Rufus has been hit by Tamsin's car." She ran to the back of her car to find Rufus lying on the ground.
Driver's Account of the Tragic Moment
In her own written statement, Mrs Haward described reversing her Porsche Macan slowly onto her drive, which was her usual practice. She noted that Olivia Davies and her daughter were standing on the grass outside their car on the driver's side, and she waved hello with her window down. "I knew that Rufus was also coming that day, but he wasn't standing with Olivia and her daughter on the driver's side or anywhere to be seen on the driveway when I drove in," she said.
Mrs Haward drove forward into the driveway, moving anti-clockwise around a circular grass island, then stopped to reverse into her parking space. "I checked both my wing and rear-view mirror before reversing and reversed slowly," she explained. "In the second I was looking between my right wing mirror and rear-view mirror, about halfway into the parking spot, I felt the car had gone over something on the driveway. The bump I felt was on the passenger's rear side of the car."
She exited the car to find Rufus lying on the gravel. "To my horror I realised the gravity of the situation, and that Rufus must have been running behind me whilst I was reversing," Mrs Haward said. She immediately called 999 and began CPR while waiting for paramedics, but Rufus was declared dead at the scene from a diffuse traumatic head injury following an impact with a motor vehicle, as confirmed by a post-mortem examination.
Police Investigation and Coroner's Conclusion
Police investigators found that Mrs Haward had not broken the law. PC Alexander Way, a collision investigator, stated there were no faults with the car and that Mrs Haward had tested negative for drugs and alcohol. "The case has failed the Crown Prosecution Service threshold for any prosecution under the Road Traffic Act as the location is not deemed a public place or road, and the driving is not deemed under current case law as careless," he said. "It's an extremely tragic incident with the most devastating of outcomes."
Ian Singleton, the area coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon, recorded a conclusion of misadventure. He explained, "Rufus was so excited to see Tamsin that he wanted to get out of the car, so he was helped down and ran around the back of his mother's car, unwittingly into the path of Tamsin's car." The coroner noted that at 1.3 metres tall, Rufus would not have been visible through the rear window unless he was 4.3 metres away, and parking sensors would not extend that far, creating an area where a child of his height would be invisible.
Mr Singleton added, "That remains me to pass to the family of my very, very sincere condolences on your loss. I cannot imagine." The inquest highlighted the heartbreaking circumstances of a toddler's excitement leading to an unforeseen and fatal accident in a private driveway.
