Boy, four, killed instantly after concrete post fell on his head

Boy, four, was killed instantly when a concrete post collapsed on top of him after his university professor mother brought him and his friend home from football training, inquest hears

• Boy, four, killed instantly after concrete post fell on him in his own front garden 
• Leopold Mercer was playing with his friend after returning from football practice
• Emergency services performed CPR for 42 minutes without any response
• He was declared dead at the scene and it has been declared a tragic accident 

A four-year-old boy was killed instantly just weeks after he started school when a heavy garden post collapsed on top of him, an inquest heard.

Leopold Mercer was swinging on an iron gate in his garden with a friend after football training when tragedy struck at their home in Hanbury, Worcestershire on September 18.

His parents, university professors Eva Frickel and Jason Mercer, heard the other child scream ‘Leo’ and they instantly knew something was wrong, Worcestershire Coroner’s Court was told.

The couple frantically tried to resuscitate Leopold before emergency crews arrived.

West Midlands Ambulance Service paramedics and Midlands Air Ambulance doctors continued CPR, but with no response after 42 minutes, Leopold was declared dead at the scene.

Leopold Mercer was swinging on an iron gate in his garden with a friend after football training when tragedy struck at their home in Hanbury, Worcestershire on September 18

Dr Frickel described to the court how she’d just driven the two boys back from Sunday football training when they got out of the car and were hanging on an iron gate next to the driveway.

Moments later, a concrete post fell on top of the toddler’s head at 11:48am. A post-mortem examination found Leopold died due to a traumatic head and neck injury.

Dr Frickel said: ‘Leopold had only been at school a couple of weeks and was a happy, outgoing little boy. On the driveway, there is a run of pillars in a half circle and one pillar has a garden gate attached to it.

‘The boys got out of the car and went over to play. I’d just moved the car onto the grass when I heard the other child scream ‘Leo’ and could tell from the sound of it that something was wrong.

‘I ran round and saw him under the pillar that had fallen. It was so heavy, I wasn’t able to move it.’

Dr Frickel recalled how Leopold’s dad ran from the house and struggled to lift the pillar off his son before starting CPR while she dialled 999.

She told the December 1 hearing: ‘It wasn’t long until I heard a helicopter and sirens but everything from then on is pretty blurred.’

His parents, university professors Eva Frickel and Jason Mercer, heard the other child scream ‘Leo’ and they instantly knew something was wrong

Since the tragedy, the mum said she had spoken to Leopold’s friend and he’d told her they were ‘hanging on the same side of the gate’ when the pillar fell. The other child suffered minor injuries and was taken to hospital to be checked.

Dr Frickel, a scientist, also issued a heart wrenching statement on Twitter about her family’s ordeal, stating her heart would be ‘forever broken’.

‘I’m hoping we can find a path forward as a family in Leo’s ‘always smiling’ spirit. And I’m hoping to create positive impact for us, our and Leo’s friends and maybe one day even further afield.

‘I am still a scientist in my head, but my heart is forever broken. Child loss grief takes a permanent place in your life.

‘Life is unfair. You cannot be sure you will live tomorrow.’ 

Dr Christopher Hamilton, a doctor with Midlands Air Ambulance who attended the incident, said: ‘Leopold was lying on the path next to a fallen brick gate post and metal gate. The paramedics said Leo was not responding when they arrived.

‘He appeared to have a very extensive head injury that was likely to have been a devastating brain injury and severe maxillofacial fractures amongst other things.’

Pathologist Dr Andrew Bamber reported that a traumatic head and neck injury caused the death.

Dr Bamber said: ‘The catastrophic injury to the head was consistent with blunt force trauma and likely to have been instantaneously fatal.’

West Mercia Police officers investigated as a matter of routine and found ‘nothing sinister’ about the circumstances, noting that ‘it appeared in their view to be a tragic accident’, senior coroner David Reid said.

Recording a conclusion of accidental death, Mr Reid said: ‘Leopold sustained a fatal head and neck injury when a brick gate pillar fell on him while playing at home and he died from his injuries at the scene. His death was due to an unnatural event of the collapse of a brick pillar.’

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