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Supplied / Stuff
Aldrich Viju died after an incident on the playground of a North Shore child care center
The death of a 4-year-old boy in a child care center was “a tragedy of the highest order,” a coroner’s investigation has heard.
The investigation into Aldrich Viju’s death began in Auckland District Court on Tuesday.
Angels child care center attorney in Takapuna on Auckland’s north shore, Fletcher Pilditch, said it was a warm, sunny spring day on November 18, 2016, when his father left Aldrich at 1pm.
The children were finishing their lunch and playing in the outdoor area.
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His father had left Aldrich at one in the afternoon and shortly after he was seen playing with a stilt.
The stilt had a bungee cord attached to it and Aldrich was seen with the stilt slung over his shoulder like a backpack.
Then another boy found Aldrich at the bottom of a slide. The stilt was around his neck and the bungee cord had snagged at the top of the slide.
The boy found a teacher, saying “Aldrich was sleeping and was not waking up.”
The teacher, Jiae Kwon, told the investigation that she initially looked inside for Aldrich before asking the boy where Aldrich was and heading outside.
Kwon found him at the end of the slide.
“The rope got tangled in the top of the slide … and grabbed Aldrich’s arm.”
He said that Aldrich’s heart was beating, but he wasn’t breathing.
He performed CPR and an ambulance was called. However, Aldrich could not be revived.
Pilditch said the death had a great effect on the staff.
“To this day, the tragedy is unfathomable. For them, they are still struggling to see how this brief event didn’t turn out right away. “
He said the incident was investigated initially by police and later by Worksafe investigators, but no charges were filed.
“This was indeed a tragic accident.”
Aldrich’s parents are not in the investigation, but have asked to be kept up to date.
The investigation, before coroner Sarn Herdson, is expected to last two days.
The center’s owner, Bryan McCloughen, said Stuff in 2017 that since Aldrich’s death a new $ 40,000 playground had been installed in the center.
