Death of 4-year-old killed by antique cast roller in garden was an accident, inquest rules
ITV Wales reporter Lewis Rhys Jones was at Aberystwyth Justice Centre.
An inquest has ruled the death of a four-year-old boy while playing with an antique cast iron roller in the garden was an accident.
The Welsh Air Ambulance attended and attempted to resuscitate Maldwyn “Gwern” Evans, but he died at his home in Tynreithyn, near Tregaron, in June.
Gwern was taken to Glangwili General Hospital in Carmarthen where a post-mortem examination was carried out which confirmed the young boy had a significant head injury and fractures to the skull.
From the working diagnosis of the Welsh Air Ambulance team, the inquest heard Gwern had “suffered traumatic cardiac arrest secondary to a catastrophic, traumatic brain injury.”
The roller, which is thought to have weighed between 50kg and 60kg, had been kept in the family garden for around two years but was moved to another position a fortnight before the accident.
As there were no witnesses, Senior Coroner Peter Brunton concluded it was likely “Gwern had been able to push the roller from behind and was then carried forward.
"He likely held on to the roller to try and stop it but lost control.
"As it rolled down a slope and hit the patio, the handle likely threw Gwern over and he hit the concrete surface.”
Gwern’s mother Sian Eleri Evans recounted in a statement how her son and daughter had been eating an ice cream before Gwern was playing out in the garden. Mrs Evans said she was in the kitchen at the time when she heard a thud and rushed out to the garden.
She later said: “Loss has been unimaginable, to myself, his father and sister, but to the wider family and friends.”
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