Parents speak out following death of baby after she was left in hot car all day
Warning: This article contains discussion of child death which some readers may find distressing
The parents of a one-year-old girl have broken their silence after the youngster died after being left in a car all day.
As Australian temperatures soared to 86°F, baby Olivia Ancelet was trapped in a scorching car after her dad had forgotten she was in the back.
Etienne Ancelet only made the horrifying discovery when he drove to her daycare center in Earlwood, a suburb in Sydney, to collect the youngster at 5.35pm yesterday (February 4).
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Now, the parents, Etienne and his partner, Kim Visconti, have spoken out on the tragedy and paid tribute to their baby girl, who had just turned one in December.
Speaking to news.com.au, they said: "Olivia was a sweet and beautiful baby, who was the light of our lives.
“We are humbled and grateful for the time we had her. We are devastated by what has unfolded.
“We do not wish this on any parent."
The couple added: "We will always cherish our time with our beautiful girl. She was loved by all that knew her. It is an unimaginable time of sorrow for us."
Investigations are still being carried out to see just how Olivia died.
It is understood Etienne had put her in the car to take her to the daycare center and, having thought he had dropped her off, returned to his car hours later to find his daughter still in the back.
A man who lives nearby to the incident, Roy Gomes, told NewsWire that he was mowing the lawn when he heard the harrowing screams of a man.
Gomes told the outlet: "When I go there, I saw the (man) with the baby in (his) arms and he was just panicking. We didn't know what to do, (so) I said, 'Let's try and giver her CPR, do our best.' He was screaming, poor guy, he kept screaming saying, 'I've killed my daughter'."
"All the neighbours were really good, putting water on her (and) trying to cool her down, because she was obviously still very hot," he added.
"She was just floppy. I didn’t sleep much last night, just because I could see the little baby’s face all night, but it’s just something you do."
Emergency services raced to the scene but the young girl was tragically pronounced dead.
New South Wales Police Superintendent Christine McDonald said in a press conference yesterday: “Leaving a child in a vehicle at any time can be dangerous. Leaving a child inside a vehicle for an extended period of time can be deadly.
"This is an absolute tragedy."
The conference further revealed that a man, a 'close relative' of the little girl, was also taken to hospital in shock.
It is still not known when the baby was left in the car.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact The Compassionate Friends on (877) 969-0010.
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