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Father killed daughter with car in tragic accident, says inquest | Father killed daughter with car in tragic accident, says inquest |
(35 minutes later) | |
A two-year-old died when her father accidentally ran her over, in what a coroner described as one of the most tragic cases she had seen. | |
Infant Evelyn Celgy was killed outside Nottingham’s Capital FM Arena, where her family was due to attend a bible convention at which her mother was speaking. | |
The toddler, from Crewe, was struck at low speed by the Nissan Qashqai driven by her father, Thomas Celgy, at around 8am on Saturday 11 July. | |
Evelyn, described by her father as a happy child, was rushed to Nottingham’s Queen’s medical centre but later died of her injuries. | Evelyn, described by her father as a happy child, was rushed to Nottingham’s Queen’s medical centre but later died of her injuries. |
Celgy said he did not see his daughter standing in front of the car as he pulled away from a drop-off point where he had left his wife, two sons and Evelyn. | |
In a statement read at Nottingham coroner’s court on Wednesday, Thomas described the moment of the accident. He said: “I had only moved a short distance when I heard my wife scream. I had only travelled one car length or one and a half. Initially I thought the boys were misbehaving.” | |
Thomas said he got out of the car and realised what had happened. He said: “To my horror, I could see her lying 6ft away. Evelyn was not moving and was unconscious. | Thomas said he got out of the car and realised what had happened. He said: “To my horror, I could see her lying 6ft away. Evelyn was not moving and was unconscious. |
“I realised I had accidentally run over her. I called her name but she was unresponsive. My wife was crying. I began to scream.” | “I realised I had accidentally run over her. I called her name but she was unresponsive. My wife was crying. I began to scream.” |
Other people attending the Sehion UK convention – including a doctor – began to help and Evelyn was taken by paramedics to hospital, but she later died of a traumatic brain injury. | Other people attending the Sehion UK convention – including a doctor – began to help and Evelyn was taken by paramedics to hospital, but she later died of a traumatic brain injury. |
The inquest heard evidence from a forensic crash investigator, PC Mark Gascoigne, who said the raised driving position in the Qashqai meant Evelyn was standing in a blind spot. | |
He said: “These types of vehicles have an inherent problem where we have a substantial blind spot when you are dealing with bollards.” | He said: “These types of vehicles have an inherent problem where we have a substantial blind spot when you are dealing with bollards.” |
The coroner Mairin Casey said it was clear Thomas was not at fault for the death of his daughter. Recording a verdict of death by a road traffic collision, she said: “This was an incident that happened by chance without an apparent cause. It was unexpected. It was unpredictable.” | |
Addressing Thomas, she said: “I know you will have gone through this in your mind many, many times. This is a case that I can describe cause that in many ways is a very simple forensic case, but in terms of the level of tragedy involved, it is difficult to imagine a more tragic scenario. There is nothing you could have done to avoid this situation.” | |
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