Saturday, October 17, 2009

A 6-month-old child is alive, having only received minor injuries, after the stroller it was riding in was run over by a commuter train in Melbourne, Australia. The entire incident was recorded by security cameras at Ashburton railway station, where the incident occurred.

Security video footage shows the mother tending to her baby who was in a stroller. She then moves the stroller a safer distance from the tracks. After letting go of the stroller for a second, it rolled towards the tracks and fell off the platform, being struck and dragged nearly 30 meters by the arriving train. Police say the brakes on the stroller were not applied.

The baby only received a minor cut to the head, and had already been rescued before authorities arrived on scene. Mother and baby were taken to Royal Children’s Hospital and released shortly thereafter. At a press conference following the incident, Michael Ferweda, a police spokesperson called it a “miracle” that no one was injured and that the mother was not at fault. No charges are going to be filed. “It was a lucky escape and a chance for commuters to think about heeding warnings to be more careful around platforms,” he added. The name of the baby and mother have not been released.

Jon Wright, one of the responding paramedics who treated the baby said, “Fortunately the train was slowing as it pulled into the station. The baby received a bump to his head and was distressed when we arrived. Luckily he was strapped into his pram at the time, which probably saved his life.”