Toddler struck and killed as he runs out to greet father in van

A TODDLER died after being hit by a van driven by his father as he ran to greet him outside their South Yorkshire home.

Andrew Bake was manoeuvring his Ford Transit van outside the family home in Barnsley when he failed to see his two-year-old son, AJ, eagerly dash outdoors to meet him.

The toddler was taken to Barnsley District General Hospital but died of head injuries about 40 minutes later.

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AJ's devastated father and his wife Prissana were too distraught to

talk at their bungalow in Sherwood Way, Cudworth, following the devastating accident which is the latest in a string of similar tragedies in Yorkshire.

A neighbour who ran to help the toddler, said: "AJ had been in the lounge and saw his dad's van coming. He ran out as he was turning round and parking up. His dad did not see him. It is terrible."

The neighbour, who asked not to be named, said Prissana and Lily Bake, the toddler's grandmother, were "hysterical" at the scene and Mr Bake repeatedly said "AJ, talk to Daddy" while family members grabbed towels to put round his head.

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She added: "The grandma was on the telephone to the emergency services and was asking if he was breathing.

"I asked Andrew and he said he didn't know. He was in shock. We dare not move the lad. They kept saying on the telephone to pull him out but we couldn't because it was a head injury.

"It seemed like an age before the ambulance arrived. Every minute seemed like an hour.

"The paramedics picked him straight up and took him in the ambulance."

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The neighbour, who had known Mr Bake since he was a child, said Lily Bake was "shaking like a leaf" and she stayed with her following the accident on Wednesday evening.

"He was a beautiful little boy. It's heartbreaking", she said.

"He had really big brown eyes. The family have had such a lot of bad luck. It's only a few weeks since his grandad died."

Both Andrew and Prissana Bake and Mr Bake's parents have lived in bungalows in Sherwood Way since the homes were built, the neighbour said.

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She added: "This is a quiet little cul-de-sac which makes it all the more shocking.

"I could understand it if it was a main road.

"Lily is blaming herself. She said she couldn't stop the little boy. I don't think they will get over it."

A Bob the Builder soft toy has been left in tribute to AJ at the scene of the accident.

A South Yorkshire Police spokesman confirmed that a two-year-old boy had died after a collision with a Ford Transit van.

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He said: "The boy, from Cudworth, suffered head injuries and was taken to the Barnsley District General Hospital.

"He is believed to have run into the path of the van in Sherwood Way at 5.05pm. The boy was pronounced dead at about 5.40pm at the hospital."

The tragedy took place a year to the day after Hafsah Mahmood, three, died outside her home in Bradford after being accidentally knocked down by a neighbour.

Hafsah was playing in the street when she was run over and killed after a family friend reversed her car out of the drive without realising she was there.

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At an inquest into Hafsah's death, coroner Roger Whittaker said he would be writing to the Department for Transport to see if anything could be done to improve visibility for drivers, such as mirrors on the back window and CCTV.

Two years ago seven-year-old Charlie Liversidge died in the driveway of a neighbour's home in Abbeydale Road South, Dore, Sheffield, when he became trapped under a car in an incident which was described by police as a "tragic accident".