Samantha Walsh and Carter Walsh.Photo:GoFundMe
GoFundMe
The death of a toddler who was crushed when a television and fireplace fell on top of him has been ruled an accident.
Carter Walsh, 2, was dancing to the YouTube program Cocomelon at his home in England in September when the television and marble fireplace toppled onto him, according toBBC NewsandWigan Today.
The television, which weighed up to 30 kgs (66 lbs.), was unsecured at the time of the incident,The Manchester Evening Newsreported.
Carter was knocked unconscious and went into cardiac arrest before he was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the outlets.
Detective Inspector Stuart Woodhead, of the Greater Manchester Police, told the inquest he believed the boy “had gone towards the fireplace” and “grabbed the mantelpiece” before he was crushed.
“He didn’t suffer, he didn’t know what was going on,” Woodhead explained, BBC News reported. “It was an instantaneous event.”
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Bolton Coroner’s Court ruled on Friday, Dec. 20, that the boy’s death was accidental in nature.
PEOPLE reached out to the coroner for comment on Dec. 20, while Manchester Police declined to comment further on the case.
Helen Mayhew, the boy’s grandmother, told the inquest that her grandson “was just a happy toddler,” according to theEvening News.
Woodhead concurred. “He was a happy, well looked after child,” the detective inspector told the inquest. “This is a tragic accident. He was well supported and loved.”
Mayhew told the inquest that family members had a plan to secure the television before Carter was killed.
“The day before the accident, me and my husband were looking at what we needed to secure it,” she said. “They were resting against the wall but there were no fittings to attach it.”
Nearly £2,500 (about $3,150) has been raised through aGoFundMe campaignstarted to support Carter’s family in the wake of the tragedy.
source: people.com
