Baby killed, five-year-old injured in Sydney shopping-centre car park
NSW Police treat the Minto Mall incident as a tragic accident as investigators probe whether driver reversed into a pram; the vehicle was equipped with a rear-view camera
A 5-month-old baby girl was killed and a 5-year-old boy seriously injured after they were struck by a car in a busy shopping-centre car park in Sydney’s south-west on Monday afternoon, police said.
Emergency services raced to Minto Mall in Minto after reports the children had been hit while beside a parked vehicle. A 35-year-old woman who was driving the car was uninjured. NSW Police said the woman was known to the children and that officers performed CPR at the scene before paramedics provided further treatment; the baby was pronounced dead at the scene and the boy was taken to Westmead Children’s Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
Police said crash unit investigators will examine the circumstances, including whether the driver intended to move the vehicle forward but accidentally reversed and crushed the pram against another parked car. The vehicle involved was a Renault Kwid, a model fitted with a rear-view reversing camera. Authorities said the incident is being treated as a tragic accident while inquiries continue.
Witnesses and local residents gathered at the scene after the incident, leaving flowers and soft toys. A number of people posting on social media and local message boards questioned how the collision occurred despite the vehicle’s reversing camera and sensors, and urged greater caution in car parks. Some commenters called for wider parking bays to accommodate prams and car seats, while others cautioned against leaving children unattended near vehicles.
NSW Police said investigators will review CCTV where available and examine the vehicle’s systems as part of the probe. Officers from the area command attended and the crash reconstruction team was expected to examine vehicle position, tyre marks and any video evidence to determine the sequence of events.
Shopping-centre car parks are frequently the focus of safety concerns because of vehicle movements in close proximity to pedestrians and prams. Authorities and road-safety advocates have previously recommended that caregivers keep children in arms or inside a locked vehicle until all occupants can be secured, and that drivers take extra care when manoeuvring in tight spaces.
Local emergency services responded to the scene and provided medical treatment before transporting the injured child to hospital. Police said support services were being offered to the family and to attending officers. The investigation remains ongoing and anyone with information or footage of the incident has been asked to contact NSW Police.
The death has prompted renewed public discussion about vehicle safety features, parking design and best-practice behaviour in car parks, but investigators cautioned against speculation until forensic and technical examinations are complete. Authorities said they will provide updates as inquiries progress and stressed that the matter is being handled as a family tragedy while the cause of the collision is established.