Mum pops out only to get phone call saying her boy, two, has been killed by falling fireplace
A mum received a devastating phone call telling her that her two year old son had experienced a fatal accident after she popped out for just 20 minutes.
Samantha Walsh was alerted to the dire circumstances involving her young son, Carter Walsh, after receiving a call from her niece last Wednesday. Initially, she was informed Carter had "banged his head", but tragically, a more severe accident had occurred at their family home after a marble fireplace had collapsed on the toddler when its bottom part unexpectedly "snapped".
Rushing back to her home in Wigan, Greater Manchester, Samantha, aged 38, arrived to find emergency services working to save her boy. Despite their efforts, Carter passed away later in hospital.
Read more: Baby died after exhausted mum sent home just four hours after birth
Grieving, Samantha shared her feelings with journalists today, for the first time since the incident: "He was my best friend. He was well-loved, not just by his family but by anybody that met him. He broke the hearts of everybody he met... He was the apple of our eyes."
That fateful day began positively, with Carter having "the best day ever," engaging with family members, meeting his grandma's horse, and playing with his cousin as well as his aunt, Natalie Prescott, aged 35. Shortly after Samantha left the house, the unexpected disaster took place, prompting an ambulance to rush to their location, reports the Mirror.
Describing the event, Aunt Natalie recalled, "The fireplace, it just collapsed in the middle. It was giving and it's just collapsed and it's just come forward. It was a marble fireplace."
The landlord, who was at the home to repair the boiler, immediately dialled 999, bringing paramedics swiftly to the tragic scene.
Natalie's daughter immediately contacted Samantha, who initially didn't realise the gravity of the situation. Samantha recounted: "She was very calm at first and she just said 'You need to come home, Carter has banged his head.' I don't know if she was doing that to keep me calm."
As Samantha waited for a taxi to take her home, she kept calling back, sensing the seriousness of the incident as her daughter's tone shifted to one of panic, knowing her mother was on her way.
The situation escalated when Samantha rang her own mother to help, saying: "I rang my mum. She came and picked me up. And when I got there, they were still working on him the ambulance and the police. They let me see him, and then they said, 'Right, we need to get him to hospital'."
Samantha conveyed the heartbreak that followed when they decided not to airlift Carter, indicating the severity of the situation: "They said, 'We're going to Wigan [hospital].' I knew then, there was nothing... because they cancelled the air ambulance. My mum is a nurse at the hospital. So she knew as well. So she just said, 'Prepare yourself when you get to the hospital.'".
In the hospital, the sight of Carter appeared deceivingly serene to Samantha, who was struggling with the fact that he had sustained a fatal injury, as she noted: "It was just one head injury."
"But he just looked so peaceful... There was no bruising or anything to his face. The cut was covered over. There were no visible injuries. He's had loads of checks at the hospital. They've said he had been healthy [prior to the accident]. Everything was fine."
Samantha recounted how Carter had initially been in foster care after his birth before she regained custody: "I had to fight for him back out of foster care. I did that, I got him back, and I've spent every day with him since. He's been with me now nearly two years, obviously. He was my best mate."
Struggling with her grief, Samantha shared: "I've been back to the house. I couldn't stay there. I went to stay with my sisters. I went back yesterday to clean up, obviously, because there was blood."
A Greater Manchester Police spokesperson confirmed their involvement, stating: "At around 2.15pm on Wednesday September 18, officers were called to reports regarding a concern for welfare of a child on Fisher Close, Wigan."
"Sadly, despite the best efforts of paramedics, a two-year-old boy later died at hospital. Enquiries are ongoing and officers are supporting the family at this time."
A representative for the North West Ambulance Service confirmed: "We attended an incident at a private address following a 999 call at 14.06. An ambulance, air ambulance, response vehicle, advanced paramedic attended. A patient was taken to hospital by road."