Girl killed in tragic TV accident - News in brief - Evening Standard
       

Girl killed in tragic TV accident

A four-year-old girl died after her father dropped a television on her head causing "a catastrophic brain injury", an inquest has heard.

Emily May Hughes died on Christmas Day after a freak accident at her home the day before.

Christmas Eve had been a fun day for the family with them visiting friends and shopping. They bought a new television set for their home in Coedpoeth, Wrexham.

Emily's father, Robert Hughes, a design engineer, installed the television in the first-floor living room then carried the old "heavy, deep, bulky" widescreen downstairs into the children's play area.

Liverpool Coroner's Court heard that unbeknown to her father as he struggled downstairs, she was lying on her stomach at the foot of the stairs.

In a report by North Wales Police, officers said Mr Hughes accidentally bumped into her, dropping the television and pinning her head down.

Mr Hughes carried Emily into the kitchen where his wife, Louise Sandra Hughes, described in court as a youth co-ordinator, phoned for an ambulance. The couple tried to resuscitate the youngster until paramedics arrived at 6.20pm.

Emily was rushed to Wrexham Maelor Hospital and transferred to Liverpool's Alder Hey Hospital later that evening suffering from a lack of blood and oxygen to the brain.

Consultant Dr Jane Ratcliffe said Emily sustained a head fracture in the accident, and the brain damage stopped her pulse and blood pressure.

Coroner Andre Rebello recorded a verdict of accidental death at the inquest, attended by just his officer.

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