Police name driveway death toddler

NZ Herald·

8 Dec, 2014 01:35 AM3 mins to read

Police at the scene where the toddler was run over by a driver. Photo / Daniel Hines

Police have named the toddler who died after being hit by a car in a driveway in South Auckland.

Eighteen-month-old Vaimoana Mafi was struck at a property in Massey Rd, Mangere on Saturday. She was taken to Middlemore Hospital with serious injuries, and later transported to Starship.

It has been reported that the car was being driven by a family member.

Vaimoana had been in a stable condition, but police confirmed this morning that she died from her injuries.

Neighbours yesterday described how they heard a man screaming in horror as he carried Vaimoana after she was hit.

Hanna Salesa, 17, ran out of her house when she heard the man's cries on Saturday afternoon and said she saw her neighbour holding up Vaimoana and yelling for his wife.

She believed the driver of the reversing vehicle did not know Vaimoana was behind it.

A nephew who lived in the house had shouted for the driver to "watch out" but the driver could not hear "because the windows were up".

After the accident, Miss Salesa said she saw the man shouting for his wife, who appeared shocked. He had asked her to hold the child but she could not carry the girl into the house, she said.

"I went to their house and saw the [man] sitting on the table and holding on to the baby ... he didn't let her go until the ambulance arrived."

The Herald understands the couple have an older son and were sharing the two-bedroom unit with another couple and their nephew.

Miss Salesa, who did not know the names of her neighbours, said up to six or seven people could be living in the rear unit on Massey Rd in Mangere. No one was at home when the Herald visited the house yesterday.

Police at the time would not confirm who the driver of the vehicle was, but said it was "a person close to the child".

Shock figures

Studies by Safekids Aotearoa found driveway runovers occurred more frequently where families were higher than average size and population densities were high.

"Every two weeks a child is hospitalised with serious injuries received from a vehicle driving on a private driveway in New Zealand," said Ann Weaver, Safekids director.

"A further five children are killed annually, on average, in the same way."

This was the fourth time a child had been run over in the past eight months.

Ms Weaver said most children killed or injured were toddlers and the driver was usually the father, mother or a close family member.

Two weeks ago, 3-year-old Valentina Grace Warren was killed by a vehicle in the driveway of her Te Atatu, West Auckland.

Valentina Warren. Photo / Facebook

In March, toddler Mila Tamihana was found in her Cartmel Ave driveway in Massey with fatal injuries after being hit by a car. Te Manawa Whetuki Renata, 23 months, died after being hit by a vehicle in his Papatoetoe, South Auckland driveway in April.