Battle to save tot fails
Death of 1-year-old girl triggers homicide inquiry
Apolice officer desperately tried to revive a child in a South Auckland driveway but the 1-year-old died at the scene. Police began a homicide inquiry after the little girl died in the suburb of Clover Park on Saturday night.
Flat Bush Rd resident Albert Vahaakolo said he had seen police further up the road that night responding to a separate incident, before somebody called out to police for help.
An officer had only been about 50 metres or so away and was able to get to the house quickly.
The police officer started CPR, hunched over in the driveway facing the house, he said. The child died at the scene. Police had been carefully guarding the house since, Vahaakolo said.
A policewoman knocked on his door the next morning, canvassing the area to find out more about what neighbours might have heard or seen. “There’s been a tragedy across the road,” he said she told him.
He said: “You are not only saddened, you are a bit shocked . . . sometimes when something like that happens you want to try and go over and lend a bit of support — whatever support you can.”
Another neighbour told the Herald she had visited the home to see how the family were, only to be told a young girl had died.
There have been no charges or arrests and police say the investigation is ongoing.
Detective Inspector Tofilau Fa’amanuia Va’aelua said a post-mortem examination had been carried out and a team of detectives was investigating the death.