A toddler has died after his mother reversed a car into him in Sydney's eastern suburbs, emergency services say.
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The three-year-old boy was critically injured at Clement Place, Rushcutters Bay, about 10.45am today, a NSW Police said.
A NSW Ambulance spokeswoman said paramedics performed CPR on the boy and he was taken to Sydney Children's Hospital at Randwick.
A police spokesman said the toddler died in the hospital.
A resident at the Marine One block of apartments along Clement Place, Alec Goins, said it was a one-way laneway that leads down to an underground parking garage.
He said the residents in the block were a mix of retired people and young professionals. There were also a few families living in the block, he said.
The incident comes two days after a two-year-old boy died after his mother accidentally drove her car into her home in Sorrento, on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula.
A two-year-old girl died after she was run over by a Volvo XC90 driven by her father in the driveway of a home in Lindfield, in Sydney's north, last Thursday. Two other children were in the car at the time.
Several other children have been killed or injured in driveway accidents this year.
This month, a five-year-old boy was run over by his father as he reversed his truck on Tamar Drive, Melton South, in Victoria. The man had just dropped the boy at his mother's house when he ran over the boy. The boy's younger brother ran inside to tell his mother after seeing what happened.
On July 25, a three-year-old girl was flown to hospital after she was run over in the driveway of her Gerroa home. Paramedics said her father got in the car to reverse it, but jumped out when he realised his daughter was behind the car.
The car rolled back and up against the girl's chest, fracturing her ribs.
On June 14, a 16-month-old boy died after being run over by a reversing ute, believed to have been driven by his father, in Victoria's Mornington Peninsula.
On Australia Day, a 17-month-old girl died after she was run over in the driveway of her family's home in Ashcroft in Sydney's south-west.
Car makers are increasingly making reverse cameras and sensors standard, rather than as optional, in vehicles in response to such incidents.
In the NRMA's 2010 Reversing Visibility Index, seven sports utility vehicles received the maximum five-star rating.
The boy's death prompted police to issue this safety advice to parents:
- When moving your vehicle put your children in your car or have an adult look after them.
- When reversing be sure you have a clear line of sight behind your car.
- Always drive slowly when children are around as they are unable to judge the speed and distance of traffic and their behaviour can be erratic and unpredictable.
- Never assume someone else is looking after your child - make sure you know where they are at all times. with Nick Ralston and Richard Blackburn