Warning: This article discusses the sensitive topic of child death which may be distressing for some readers.
Tragedy struck as a one-year-old girl lost her life after her father accidentally left her in his car during a day of high temperatures.
Olivia Ancelet, from Australia, was discovered locked in the backseat as temperatures soared to 86°F. Her location was only realized when her father, Etienne Ancelet, arrived at her daycare, Jelly Beings Early Learning Centre in Earlwood, Sydney, around 5.35pm local time on February 4, to pick her up.
Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding Olivia’s death. It is believed that Ancelet had placed her in the car with the intention of driving her to daycare.
Emergency services were summoned to the daycare after receiving reports of a child found unresponsive in a vehicle. Sadly, the young girl was declared dead upon their arrival.
Ancelet, believing he had already dropped Olivia off, returned to his car hours later to face the heartbreaking reality.
In a message to news.com.au, both Ancelet and Olivia’s mother, Kim Visconti, remembered their daughter as “the light of our lives” and a “sweet and beautiful baby.”
“We are humbled and grateful for the time we had her. We are devastated by what has unfolded,” they shared, expressing a wish that no other parent experiences this tragedy.
“We will always cherish our time with our beautiful girl. She was loved by all that knew her,” they added. “It is an unimaginable time of sorrow for us.”
Roy Gomes, who attempted to assist Olivia, recounted to Sky News how he responded to the anguished cries of Ancelet and tried to resuscitate Olivia for five minutes.
“My neighbour came across and he said, ‘Can you hear that screaming?’, so I turned the lawnmower off,” Gomes explained. “When I got there, I saw [Ancelet] with the baby in [his] arms, and he was just panicking.”
“We didn’t know what to do, I said, ‘Let’s try and give her CPR, do our best’.”
Speaking to NewsWire, Gomes added: “[Ancelet] was screaming, poor guy, he kept screaming saying, ‘I’ve killed my daughter’.”
“All the neighbours were really good, putting water on her (and) trying to cool her down, because she was obviously still very hot,” he said.
“She was just floppy. I didn’t sleep much last night, just because I could see the little baby’s face all night, but it’s just something you do.”
During a press conference held on February 4, New South Wales Police Superintendent Christine McDonald stated: “Leaving a child in a vehicle at any time can be dangerous. Leaving a child inside a vehicle for an extended period of time can be deadly.
“This is an absolute tragedy.”
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone confidentially, contact The Compassionate Friends at (877) 969-0010.