Garage wall-crush boy, 12, lay dying in rubble next to his father until help arrived
Mother found scene of horror when she called them in for dinner
A SCHOOLBOY who was crushed by a garage wall in a ‘tragic accident’ lay dying alongside his father until help arrived, it was revealed last night.
Scott-Swaley Stevens, 12, and his dad Scott Stevens were working in their garden when the wall collapsed on Friday evening – pinning them under a mound of rubble.
The pair remained trapped for ‘ two hours’ before the boy’s mother, Charmaine Lee, discovered the horrifying scene when she went outside to call them both in for dinner.
After his wife raised the alarm, Mr Stevens, in his 30s, was pulled from the debris by emergency services who rushed to St John’s Road in Clacton, Essex, shortly before 7pm.
Tragically, the schoolboy, known to friends as ‘Swaley’, died in the garden after speaking to his father ‘until he took his last breath’. In an emotional statement released through a friend, the family said: ‘After a tragic accident our son Scott-Swaley has sadly passed away. We are heartbroken. As a family, we cannot explain the hurt we feel and we are broken.
‘Our Swaley was a well-loved boy who had friends not only in Clacton, but also in Dartford and Wickford and will be missed by so many.
‘As a family, we would like to ask for privacy at this difficult time whilst we come to terms with our loss.
‘We appreciate and would like to say thank you for all of the kind tributes to our boy.’
Other family members took to social media to pay tribute, with one writing: ‘ Rest in peace my cousin Swaley. My thoughts and prayers are with you, Charmaine and my uncle Scott. Rest easy up there little man.’
Mr Stevens, described by a friend as a handyman, was rushed to hospital with an injury to his arm. Essex Police were last night treating the schoolboy’s death as ‘nonsuspicious’, with a file being prepared for the coroner.
Detective Inspector James Hardingham, leading the investigation, said: ‘ We’re continuing our enquiries to establish the facts leading to the wall collapse.
‘If anyone has information that can help us, or anyone who was in St John’s Road just before 7pm [on Friday] and saw anything that could help our investigation, please call us.’
The house the garage was attached to has since been declared safe.
The family are said to have moved into the property next door to Clacton fire station two years ago after buying it for £185,000. Pictures taken from the scene show mounds of discarded rubble next to the house, with broken window frames and other debris littering one side of the detached property.
Family friend Scott Pepper, 47, told the Mail: ‘All I can really say is that father and son spent all their time when not working and [at] school together.’
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service station manager Nick Singleton said last night: ‘This is a tragic incident and our thoughts are with everyone who knew the child as well as the wider Clacton community.’
He added: ‘Our firefighters worked incredibly hard to save both casualties and this is never the outcome we want to see.
‘We will be offering further support to all of the firefighters who attended this difficult incident.’
‘Will be missed by so many’