A Carlingford mother who fatally struck a child outside a primary school was performing a three-point turn, police have revealed.
The 46-year-old mother, whose two daughters were in year 3 and year 5 at Carlingford Public School, pulled into the school’s driveway in her white Nissan Dualis at 9.20am on Wednesday and hit a woman and three children.
A six year-old boy, named Akshay, who was on holiday from Malaysia, was pinned between the car and a fence and died.
His mother, who was walking Akshay’s cousin Zoe Stephen to her last day of kindergarten at Carlingford Public School, sustained a knee injury.
Zoe was uninjured but her four year-old sister, Elle, had her pelvis fractured in two places and remained in The Children’s Hospital at Westmead on Thursday.
The driver’s husband told Fairfax Media that they were all traumatised and “not in a good situation”.
Sisters Zoe (left) and Elle Stephen. Photo: Supplied
It was the last day of a “brilliant” school year for Zoe, her grandmother said.
She had won a merit award last month and, with Christmas less than a week away, was excited about going to the movies with
Akshay and friends on Friday.
Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander John Hartley said initial investigations indicated speed was not a factor.
“I believe it was a vehicle making a three-point turn … and the vehicle has travelled forward across the footpath,” he said.
“It’s a very traumatic scene, at a school, on the last day of school,” he said.
The car veered right off the driveway and crashed into a fence. Akshay and Elle were both pinned under the car.
The driver was treated for shock and remains in hospital.
Her two daughters, who were in the back seat, still went to school for their last day.
The stretch of road outside Carlingford Public School was considered so dangerous during drop-off hours that the Department of Education had issued a directive banning parents from using the school’s driveways, the local council had started sending infringement officers to fine drivers and principal Neil Hinton had repeatedly begged parents to be more careful.
In March, a group of students was almost hit by a distracted parent who was “oblivious to the fact that … one of our teachers was escorting a number of students across the crossing”, Mr Hinton wrote to parents.
“Unfortunately, there are still a number of parents who are disobeying road rules and jeopardising our students’ safety when dropping their children to and from school.”
Mr Hinton said he would “consult police after their investigation is complete to determine if there is anything further the school can do to improve pedestrian safety in and around its grounds”.
Source: News Ltd