The death of toddler who was run over by a roller is a tragic reminder that unsupervised children and vehicles don't mix, a child safety advocate says.
The two-year-old boy was hit by the roller operated by a family member on a driveway
in the Auckland suburb of Paremoremo on Saturday. He was rushed to Starship Hospital but died soon after.
The toddler was the fifth child to be killed on a driveway this year.
Safe Kids Aotearoa director Ann Weaver said families needed to ensure children were well supervised.
"It is really important to make sure that doors are kept closed, that there's a fenced play area where you know that you can let them have a runaround in your property," she said.
"But do keep them ... away from driveways and machinery and vehicles on your property."
It was terrible there had to be another tragedy to bring to highlight the problem, Ms Weaver said.
A police spokesperson said the roller driver was compacting loose shingle in the driveway of a home in Elmore Road when the accident happened.
The driver, who was related to the boy, was driving a 1.5 tonne roller and the child was struck as the man was reversing it, the spokesperson said.
They said he was distraught, and he and the child's family were getting help from Victim Support.
It would be several weeks before a decision was made on charges, police said.
