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Mother runs over and kills 3-year-old son while learning to drive

'My foot slipped and it jolted suddenly forward'

Matt Payton
Monday 15 February 2016 21:49 GMT
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Liam Turner was accidentally run over and killed by his mum while she parked her car
Liam Turner was accidentally run over and killed by his mum while she parked her car

A woman learning to drive accidentally ran over and killed her three-year-old son while driving into a parking space.

Lyndsay Turner, 34, was parking her car near Watton in Norfolk when she hit her son Liam, who was playing nearby with his sister.

Husband Stephen, 37, pulled his son from under the car and drove him towards the hospital before flagging down an ambulance, Norwich coroner's court heard

Liam was then airlifted to Norfolk and Norwich University hospital but could not be saved.

The inquest heard Liam suffered a serious head injury and irreversible brain damage.

Mrs Turner had told police: "My foot slipped and it jolted suddenly forward."

Her husband has been guiding her through the manoeuvre from outside of the car.

Neighbour Amy Jones saw Mrs Turner pulling into the space in a “stuttering” manner.

She said she heard Stephen Turner shouting “stop” followed by a loud crunch.

“Liam was bleeding really badly and I told Stephen to put him in the car and take him to hospital,” she added.

Mrs Turner told the inquest she had asked her husband to teach her to drive - the first time she had ever got behind the wheel.

She had neither a provisional driving licence nor insurance.

In the public interest, the Crown Prosecution Service has decided not to press charges.

Deputy coroner Nicholas Holroyd recorded a conclusion of accidental death, telling the couple: "This was an appalling tragedy and you both have my profound sympathy for this loss.

"There are very few parents who when looking back haven’t said to themselves ‘that was a near thing’, tragically this ended as disastrously as it did."

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