A two-year-old girl has died in hospital after she was hit by a reversing car in Sydney's south-west.
Create a free account to read this article
or signup to continue reading
The driver was "absolutely hysterical" after hitting the girl with a Kia car at the rear of a mechanic workshop in Campsie, police said.
Emergency services were called to Canterbury Road, just past Beamish Street, about 10.40am to reports of a toddler being hit by a car, a NSW Ambulance spokesman said.
The girl went into cardiac arrest and was rushed to Sydney Children's Hospital in Randwick in a critical condition, but later died.
Superintendent Adam Whyte from Campsie Local Area Command said emergency services were confronted with a "traumatic" scene.
"The driver was absolutely hysterical; as you would imagine this was a horrific scene not only for the driver but for all those involved and particularly for the police and emergency services," he said.
The Superintendent said it was too early in the investigation to say why the toddler was behind the car, but officers from the Metropolitan Crash Investigation Unit would be looking into the circumstances around the incident including inspecting the car and interviewing witnesses.
The female driver was taken to hospital for mandatory blood and urine tests.
Superintendent Whyte said there had been a "quick response" from emergency services, and counselling would be offered to responders who were affected by the incident.
"The death of a child is always very traumatic for the emergency services, its one of those jobs that nobody ever wants to go to," he said.
"It was quite a horrific scene for all those involved but we've obviously put in place the employee assistance for the officers here at Campsie who attended."
The Superintendent said it was a timely reminder for drivers to be extra vigilant, especially during the busy holiday period.
"It's a reminder to all drivers when reversing vehicles - that they are vigilant in checking what is behind the vehicles and when driving generally."
The death of the two-year-old girl comes after another toddler was hit by a reversing car in Melbourne.
She was struck by a reversing vehicle in the city's north-west just after 8pm on Wednesday, and she was rushed to the Royal Children's Hospital with serious injuries.
