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Death of girl, 8, who died after tree hit her in Bobbing, near Sittingbourne was tragic accident, inquest hears
16:03, 17 November 2020
updated: 16:30, 17 November 2020
A grandad frantically tried to save his eight-year-old granddaughter who was killed after being hit by a falling tree, an inquest has heard.
Maisy Mayne tragically lost her life in the freak accident in woodlands near Bobbing, Sittingbourne, on August 21, after strong winds hit the county.
An inquest earlier today at Maidstone's Archbishop's Palace heard how the youngster was on a walk with her grandparents, her great aunt, her siblings, and dogs in the woods near Parsonage Lane at around midday when tragedy struck.
A statement from grandad Perry Bailey described how the three children headed off with their great aunt Maggie to see a fallen tree, just minutes before he heard a scream which he ran over to.
On arrival he saw Maisy trapped under a tree, which had hit her on the head, and younger sister Isla stood up and swaying about with an injury to her head.
The path the family took on the day Maisy died, has not been a public footpath since 2014.
He said: “I tried to lift the tree but it was too heavy so tried to lever it up with another branch.
“I could see Maisy’s leg was badly broken and her nose was bleeding.
“I rang the ambulance service and performed CPR while listening on the loud speaker.”
Police arrived at the scene at around 12.15pm, including officer Max Turner, who detailed in a statement how when he arrived at the scene he saw the Tunstall school pupil trapped under the tree with “severe injuries”.
He attempted to perform CPR himself, but was told by an arriving member of the fire service that “she’s gone” and “we can’t save her”.
After deciding Maisy couldn't be saved PC Turner turned his attention to a girl's screams he could hear nearby, which turned out to be Isla.
'This was a sad and tragic accident.'
He attempted to keep her calm while evaluating her to see which possible injuries she may have had - he suspected an injured spine due to her lack of movement on her left side, but also suggested it could have been a head injury as she was "bleeding profusely" from there.
The court heard from detective inspector Beverley Morrison how the three children went to look at a fallen tree across a wooden bridge with their great aunt, when suddenly Maggie heard a crack and told the children to move before the branch of a tree fell to the ground trapping Maisy and hitting Isla.
Three-year-old William was left with some scratches after being pulled away by Maggie.
It was also revealed that on the day there were strong winds between 28mph to 31mph, with speeds hitting as high as 40mph.
Maisy was declared deceased just before 1pm from her “catastrophic” injuries and was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital, where she was born in 2011.
Her sister Isla was taken to Kings College via air ambulance to deal with her serious head injuries. She is now on the road to recovery.
Coroner James Dillon concluded the incident was "sad, tragic and unforeseeable" before ruling it an accident where Maisy died from her fatal injuries.
Tributes and messages of support poured in for Maisy following the incident, as well as 100 people lining Tunstall Road, Sittingbourne, before her funeral at St John the Baptist Church in September.
Maisy, of Clarendon Close, was described as her family's "beautiful girl and amazing big sister" as they set up a fundraising campaign for three charities which helped support them during tough times.
The fundraiser generated more than £28,000 in donations for the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance, the Children’s ICU at King’s hospital and the Rhys Daniels charity who put them up in a flat next to the hospital while Isla was receiving treatment.
The cause of Maisy's death was given as severe head trauma and the coroner concluded her death was due to an accident.
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