j Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Call me a doubting thomas, but after watching the tv news, I won't be at all surprised if we hear that one or both of the parents are charged. http://www.oberonreview.com.au/story/2462873/child-unconscious-after-park-accident-parents-tell-police/?cs=1873 POLICE say a three-year-old Oberon boy left unconscious and critically injured on Sunday afternoon may have been knocked over by his family's dogs and are seeking further witnesses to the incident. The boy, along with his mother and step-father were walking in the park, known as the soccer fields, on Cunynghame Street at 1pm on Sunday when the incident occurred. Chifley Local Area Command Crime Manager Detective Inspector Luke Rankin said police were told the boy had been "knocked down and struck his head" after he became tangled in the leads of the two family dogs. "The dogs [an Alsatian and a husky] were on a lead and they got loose and in some way the leads have tripped the child over," he said of the mother's report to police. "The child had been rendered unconscious and rushed home from where emergency services were called." A crime scene was established at the family home, with forensic police officers called in to examine the inside and outside of the home, along with an area in the park following the accident. Police on Monday removed a number of items from the family property including several boxes of ammunition. "We've been working to establish what's actually happened," Detective Inspector Rankin said. "Our prominent line of inquiry is we are trying to establish if the child has injuries consistent with what the parents have told us." The mother and stepfather are at Westmead Hospital and will be interviewed later today. Following the incident the child was treated by Oberon paramedics and police before being airlifted to Westmead Children's Hospital in Sydney where he remains. "The child was injured very severely to be rendered unconscious," Detective Inspector Rankin said. "He was in a critical condition which stabilised somewhat in the morning [on Monday]." Police are also liasing with the NSW Department of Community Services (DOCS), and Detective Inspector Rankin said there are no known incidents at this stage of the investigation. Police are now focused on potential witnesses and have already spoken to a number of children following the incident, but are seeking further witnesses. If you have information that will assist in this investigation contact Oberon Police on 6336 1000 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VizslaMomma Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Cynic here too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Gifts Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Truth can often be stranger than fiction but after a few decades in child protection 'the dog did it' is an excuse I've never heard. Sounds fishy to me too and hopefully they will soon be able to determine whether there is any truth to it for the sake of the child and those dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VizslaMomma Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 A child gets entangled in leads, falls to the ground, is perceived as hurt AND they rush him home??????????????????????????????? One parent rushes for help. The other keeps the child quiet and comfortable at the scene. What if there was a spinal injury? Bah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiecuddles Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 So many things about this story make no sense to me. Like why you would transport an unconscious child home before calling for help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 I believe that something like this could happen (my cousin was 2 when he slipped down a 3cm step and hit his head, he was in critical condition and has had life long issues because of it) But..... Why take the child home? I bet there is some history of abuse or something for the police to have the reaction they did Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbedWire Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 What will happen to the dogs? I thought I saw them being taken away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espinay2 Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 (edited) Who knows if the story is true or not, but I do not find it unbeleivable. Depending on how far away your house was, I can see panicked parents carrying the child home and calling emergency services from there if they did not have a phone. In reality not everyone knows basic first aid or can remember it in an emergency and we don't always do what we are 'supposed' to do. The dogs tripping the child over, while until recently I may have some doubts about it being plausible, I now know for certain it is most definitely possible. I know of a person (not a child) who just recently was pulled over by a dog on a lead in their own driveway. They hit their head when they fell and died in hospital that night. Human life is more fragile than we think and accidents do happen. Edited to add, the police have to investigate accidents like this. It is procedure and they would be remiss not to.How it is dealt with will depend on all the evidence they find and we have no way of knowing if there will be more than the article presents or not. Edited August 5, 2014 by espinay2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Gifts Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 I'm looking at this from the perspective of how children usually fall. If the legs were tangled and the dogs were around the outer area of the child I can see it falling on its bum, knees, hands and possibly even falling into the dogs themselvesbut I can't quite picture it being flipped so it landed a clean head hit. Children are very low to the ground and are used to falling when learning to walk so they have a plopping kind of fall rather than keeling right over. So yes, I can imagine a child getting a head trauma tripping up or down stairs or an adult being pulled over by a dog getting a head smack but a child's fall from a horizontal surface just seems to be so different. If it wasn't there would be a lot of head injuries happening while children learned to walk. It is possible this is true but it just doesn't feel right to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yonjuro Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 What seems a bit weird is that this happened at a park (soccer fields), I would assume that most of the area to be grassed A concussion is certainly possible on grass but less likely with a child falling from a low height. It is also more likely that a child can be knocked over from the lead when the owner is holding onto the other end and apparently this was not the case according to the report. I suppose if the two dogs were joined at the collar or if a split lead was being used then this could create a potential hazard. I dunno really, it is impossible to know the full story from this news report. I see no good outcome from this, regardless of the cause Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 I can see it happening if the child's head struck something solid - but there would be obvious injury marks from that scenario. The report above doesn't have enough info to make any judgement either way for me... I'll let the police do their investigations... T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Who knows if the story is true or not, but I do not find it unbeleivable. Depending on how far away your house was, I can see panicked parents carrying the child home and calling emergency services from there if they did not have a phone. In reality not everyone knows basic first aid or can remember it in an emergency and we don't always do what we are 'supposed' to do. The dogs tripping the child over, while until recently I may have some doubts about it being plausible, I now know for certain it is most definitely possible. I know of a person (not a child) who just recently was pulled over by a dog on a lead in their own driveway. They hit their head when they fell and died in hospital that night. Human life is more fragile than we think and accidents do happen. Edited to add, the police have to investigate accidents like this. It is procedure and they would be remiss not to.How it is dealt with will depend on all the evidence they find and we have no way of knowing if there will be more than the article presents or not. I'm with you Espinay2. You get your legs swept out from under you, you're in trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trisven13 Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Who knows if the story is true or not, but I do not find it unbeleivable. Depending on how far away your house was, I can see panicked parents carrying the child home and calling emergency services from there if they did not have a phone. In reality not everyone knows basic first aid or can remember it in an emergency and we don't always do what we are 'supposed' to do. The dogs tripping the child over, while until recently I may have some doubts about it being plausible, I now know for certain it is most definitely possible. I know of a person (not a child) who just recently was pulled over by a dog on a lead in their own driveway. They hit their head when they fell and died in hospital that night. Human life is more fragile than we think and accidents do happen. Edited to add, the police have to investigate accidents like this. It is procedure and they would be remiss not to.How it is dealt with will depend on all the evidence they find and we have no way of knowing if there will be more than the article presents or not. I'm with you Espinay2. You get your legs swept out from under you, you're in trouble. Yep makes sense to me too. Not to mention our society is one of innocence until found guilty - place yourself in this family's shoes if their version of events is true and think how much harder this will be to deal with due to being accused no doubt all over the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Not so long ago I was walking along watching the Whippets chase each other when suddenly I was flying through the air. My husbands BC had taken me out from behind at a fast rate of knots. I became fully airborn and landed on my head, then tipped slightly from the fact he hit me slightly to one side, then back, arm and hip then my legs wacked onto the ground. I landed on compacted gravel and I can tell you I did not get up for a while and had an instant splitting headache and searing pain in my lower back. That was not including all the skin off and gravel rash. I think the only thing that cushioned my head was the fact I landed on my pony tail. It is entirely possible the child got taken out by the dogs. Is it the truth?? Well I guess that will come out in time. Carrying him home was very dangerous and foolish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Poor child has died in hospital http://www.oberonreview.com.au/story/2469486/tragedy-oberon-boy-airlifted-to-westmead-dies/?cs=2125 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raineth Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Oh that's just terrible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 RIP now little one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattycake Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 RIP Little Joey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VizslaMomma Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Poor child has died in hospital http://www.oberonreview.com.au/story/2469486/tragedy-oberon-boy-airlifted-to-westmead-dies/?cs=2125 oh. Poor wee man. R.I.P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yonjuro Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Oh no, that is truly tragic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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