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Daughter died after father dropped TV on her
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-12-30 10:39 A father accidentally killed his four-year-old daughter on Christmas Eve when he tripped over her as she played on the floor and dropped the television he was carrying on her head.
Robert Hughes, a design engineer, was carrying the bulky television downstairs at the family home in Coedpoeth, Wrexham, north Wales, on Wednesday evening but did not notice that his daughter was lying on her stomach at the foot of the stairs playing a video game. Mr Hughes, and his wife Louise, a youth worker, paid tribute to their "bright, clever girl and caring" daughter who played an angel in her school nativity play a week before and regularly attended her local Salvation Army Sunday school. A short inquest held in Liverpool heard that the family spent most of Christmas Eve visiting friends and shopping, including buying a new television. After installing it in the first-floor living room, Mr Hughes carried the old "heavy, deep, bulky" set down into the children's play area for Emily and her three older siblings. Coroner Andre Rebello heard how the four-year-old liked to take the shared Nintendo video games console to quiet corners to play games away from the other children. Unknown to Mr Hughes as he struggled with the television, she was lying on her stomach at the foot of the stairs. He bumped into her, lost his footing and fell forward, dropping the machine on his daughter, the hearing which was attended only by the coroner and his officer was told. "He completely lost balance, fell and tried to push the television away from the child realising she was there but it landed on her head, pinning her," a North Wales Police report read to the inquest said. "He immediately got it off her." He rushed her into the kitchen where his wife dialled 999. Paramedics arrived a few minutes later, at 6:20 pm, and Emily was rushed to the nearby Wrexham Maelor Hospital. She was soon transferred to Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool suffering from a lack of blood and oxygen to the brain caused by a fractured skull. She died late on Christmas night with her parents by her bedside. "This was a tragic accident and this will always be a difficult time in the future with every Christmas," said the coroner, recording a verdict of accidental death. "It is every parent's worst nightmare for their child's funeral to take place before their own. "I hope the family can recover from this tragedy and celebrate the joy of Emily's life. "Emily will not have suffered." Her parents said: "Emily was a bright, clever girl, well liked by everybody, caring and kind. "She had a real talent for singing, and had done solos in the school concert just before Christmas. "We will miss her, and will never forget her." They added: "We would like to thank everyone for their support, including phone calls from round the world, flowers and cards. "The funeral, on a date to be arranged, will be a celebration of her life."
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