A toddler was killed after her father reversed over her with his car outside the family home in a tragic accident, an inquest heard yesterday.
Haniyah Bint Vaqas Youni was aged 19 months when she was run over on the driveway in the West Yorkshire town of Dewsbury on Saturday, May 21 last year.
The girl had been playing in the garden then walked down a path next to the house and out of an unlocked gate to the front drive, Bradford Coroner’s Court was told.
Haniyah sat down in the rear blind spot behind the BMW 3 Series car – which was parked facing the house – at about 10am and was killed about ten minutes later.
Investigators at West Yorkshire Police concluded that the car’s sensors were unlikely to have detected Haniyah because she was so small, reported Yorkshire Live.
The incident happened on a driveway on this road in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, in May 2023
Senior Coroner Martin Fleming said: ‘Haniyah was a lovely, vibrant, healthy little girl. The great tragedy here is that there was nothing to alert the father to her presence.’
No eyewitnesses saw the incident, but the coroner described CCTV footage provided by Haniyah’s neighbours as ‘extremely distressing’.
Local residents including two doctors rushed to help Haniyah after she was run over and attempted resuscitation after hearing a scream from her mother.
Haniyah’s mother was holding her in her arms and saw blood gushing from her nose, with paramedics arriving soon after and taking her to Leeds General Infirmary.
But medics at the hospital could not save Haniyah after finding no signs of cardiac output, despite carrying out CPR and using an incubation tube.
She died at 11.32am that day with her cause of death recorded as a traumatic head injury. The coroner concluded that it was a case of accidental death.
Haniyah’s uncle Shabir Younis attended the hearing and was left in tears. Mr Fleming asked him to pass on his condolences to the girl’s parents, who were not there.
Rule 159 of the Highway Code states that before moving off, drivers should ‘look round to check the blind spots (the areas you are unable to see in the mirrors)’.
However the police collisions unit confirmed this was guidance and that motorists were unlikely to look around the back of their vehicle every time they set off.