Toddler killed by mum's reversing car in Bishan

Extracted from Yahoo News Singapore

A two-year-old Australian boy was accidentally killed on Monday afternoon by his mother as she was driving her car in reverse at their Jalan Binchang home near Bishan in Singapore.



According to media reports, the toddler, Henry Harrington, was playing with his skate scooter at the front gate when he saw his mother returning home.



He ran toward her white multi-purpose vehicle as it reversed into their two-storey rented house at Jalan Binchang.



His mother, a housewife, did not see him and ran over him, only realising what had happened when a passing taxi driver yelled at her to stop the car, reported The Straits Times.



At that time, the family's domestic help was doing chores at the back of the house, while Henry's older sister, aged 4, was inside. His older brother, 6, was out on a play date.



Neighbours saw Mrs Harrington screaming and holding her son, as she performed CPR on him while waiting for the ambulance to arrive.



Businessman Jack Lee, who lives opposite the Harringtons, said he heard his neighbour's screams and ran to their house where he saw a pool of blood under the family's car, reported The New Paper.



"At first, I thought it was a dog," Lee said on seeing Mrs Harrington with her son. "But when I looked closer, I realised it was a child. She was panicking and shouting for someone to save her son."



By then, Henry's older sister and their maid had rushed out of the house. They cried as Mrs Harrington placed Henry on the doormat at the front door.



Lee, who is in his late 40s, said that he tried to find a pulse on the toddler's wrist, but was unable to, even after several attempts on his mother's part to revive him.



"He wasn't moving," he said. "His face was very pale and his lips and nails were all black."



According to Lee, Henry was about 80cm tall, and his height came approximately to waist level.



Henry was then rushed to KK Women and Children's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:45pm.



A police spokesperson said that investigations are ongoing and that they have questioned Mr and Mrs Harrington.



Henry's father, Dion, said his wife usually brought Henry along whenever she went out.



"Yesterday was one of the rare occasions she left him at home," he told local media.



He also said he plans to bring his son's body back to Perth, where they lived before moving to Singapore in September last year.



He said, "We will probably just have a service in Singapore, but we intend to bring him back to Perth this weekend."

 
 
 
This is so heartbreaking...