Baby dies from freak accident involving stroller

SINGAPORE - A four-month old baby died from head injuries after his 21-month-old cousin pushed the stroller the baby was in causing it to fold and fall onto the ground, with the baby still inside.

The stroller had apparently not been unfolded properly and the safety catch was not latched on, which caused it to fold when it was pushed.

According to Lianhe Wanbao, this incident happened on March 2 last year.

After the four-month-old infant fell, he appeared to be fine and did not cry.

When the incident happened, the baby was under the care of his aunt, Linda (not her real name), 29.

In order to protect the identity of the 21-month-old boy, none of the names involved in the case can be revealed.

Linda then picked up the baby, latched on the safety catch, and put him back into the stroller and continued shopping. Everything seemed fine to her.

An hour later, they returned home and the baby slept soundly. The next day at 6am, he woke up crying and was fed some milk. He then fell asleep again.

Three hours later, Linda found the baby lying face down.

His fingers had hardened and there was brown discharge coming out of his nostrils. He was unresponsive.

He was then sent to the hospital where he was then pronounced dead.

Unknown to Linda, the infant had suffered fractures to his skull when he fell.

He had died from head injuries, an autopsy revealed.

On Wednesday, State Coroner Janet Wang found there had been no foul play in the baby's death, said a report in The Straits Times.

"The unfortunate unfurling of events had wrested the life of the deceased (from him) before he could begin to live it," the report quoted her as saying.

"It remains for me to extend my condolences to the deceased's family. It is hoped that time would assuage their grief."

spanaech@sph.com.sg

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