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 – just weeks after he started school.
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.
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.
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.’
A post-mortem examination found Leopold died due to a traumatic head and neck injury.
Dr Frickel, a scientist, wrote on Twitter that her heart would be “forever broken”.
She said: “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.”
