Pic: Ian Britton
A three-year-old girl died after apparantly being hit by a courier van in Croydon town centre in what appears to have been a freak accident.
According to some reports, the young girl, named locally as Olivia Uffindell, died when her pushchair was blown by strong winds into the path of a DPD courier van on Wellesley Road, Croydon.
Reports suggested the girl’s mother had left the child in the pushchair while she returned to her home.
The Air Ambulance and London Ambulance Service were called to the scene at 08:52. The responding medics pronounced the girl dead at 10:03am after she was rushed to St George’s hospital with the cause of death believed to have been cardiac arrest.
A spokeswoman for LAS said: “Our staff treated one patient, a girl reported to be three-years-old who was in cardiac arrest and she was taken to St George’s Hospital in an ambulance escorted by the doctor from the air ambulance.”
DPD confirmed that one of its vehicles had been involved in the accident. The driver of the van was arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving and later granted bail to appear at a police station at a later date.
A spokesman stated: “Staff from our Croydon depot have been at the scene helping police.
“Our deepest sympathy goes to the family involved and we will continue to work closely with the emergency services investigating the incident.”
A single floral tribute lay outside the girl’s home today as neighbours expressed their shock at Olivia’s death.
Temi Ismail-Sobogun, 22, who has a two-year-old son, said: “She was a beautiful little girl. I’m gripping on to my son’s pram now every moment. Even the wind today coming along the road today shows how easy it must have been to just go into the road.”
Another neighbour, Glenford Evans, said: “She’s a lovely mother and daughter. Everyone’s really devastated by it. We just hope it’s something that doesn’t happen again to anyone. She was a beautiful little girl. Very quiet, very friendly. It’s just absolutely awful.”
Officers from the Road Death Investigation Unit at Catford Traffic Garage are investigating the circumstances of the collision.
Anyone with any information regarding the collision is urged to call the police on 020 8285 1574
