Officer pulled Kiara, 2 from car ... but too late
A BRAVE police officer tried to rescue a two-year-old girl after her mum’s car rolled into a river.
PCSO Caryl Griffith dived into the water to free Kiara Moore from the Mini which Kim Rowlands, 29, had reported missing.
She pulled the toddler from the car but the tot died in hospital days before her third birthday.
Ms Rowlands had nipped into Kiara’s dad’s shop, leaving the small child “laughing and singing” on the back seat, an inquest heard.
As she came out she saw the silver vehicle had vanished.
She dialled 999 to say her car had been stolen before discovering the truth.
The vehicle had plunged into the River Teifi at Cardigan, Ceredigion.
PCSO Griffith told an inquest in Aberystwyth: “I took off my vest and boots and dived headfirst into the river.
“The river was freezing cold and you could tell the current was really strong.
“I felt something when I put my arms through the window. I came to the surface and said that someone needed to smash the window.”
She and Pc Nick Harvey smashed their way into the car to pull Kiara’s body out and drag her to shore to perform CPR. PCSO Griffith said: “I immediately felt Kiara’s body. “She floated out of the car into my arms.
“Both of us held her little body. All I remember was looking at her body and her face was purple.” Forensic investigator Aled Thomas told the inquest the car was in third gear and the handbrake not applied. No charges were brought. The coroner recorded a verdict of misadventure and called it “a catastrophic event” for any parent.