All it took was a split second... we watched our boys' pram roll away

"I’d craved a lightweight, easy to push stroller that could turn easily and go up and down pavements. It's very selling point turned out to be its most dangerous feature." 

A brave father and one of his twin daughters have died after their double buggy rolled onto the train tracks and he jumped down to protect his children.

I can’t get the story out of my head.

It’s such an unimaginable tragedy for the family and for everyone who witnessed it. Disasters can happen in a split second. News stories like this remind me how lucky I was that my own near-miss with a rolling pram didn’t end in tragedy. Our outcome could have easily been different.

My heart aches that there wasn’t a happy ending for the family in the news story.

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Flashback to the day I will never forget

I still remember the day vividly. My husband and I were walking home after shopping in the busy little market town where we lived in the UK. It was a chilly winter’s day, and our toddler twin boys were tucked under thick blankets in their side-by-side, three-wheeled buggy.

We paused at an ATM to draw out some cash, both facing the screen with our twin buggy next to us while we took off our gloves so we could each put some of the notes in our own wallets. All it took was a split second of distraction.

Maybe we each assumed the other had a hand on the buggy or that the other had applied the brake. Or maybe we just assumed you could let go of a pram and it would stay still with the weight of twin toddlers sitting in it. I can’t really remember what we were thinking.

As we each put our money away, our lightweight, easy to maneuver pram started to move. There was no wind – it just rolled by itself.

They say that time slows down in moments like this, and that’s exactly how I experienced it.

Karen with one of the strollers she used for her twins over the years. Image: Supplied

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"We couldn't move fast enough"

“Hey!” yelled out a pedestrian who saw the pram roll away. 

We looked up, shocked at seeing our buggy moving towards the edge of the pavement and the busy, fast-moving traffic beyond. It felt like we were frozen to the spot watching our toddlers slowly glide towards the oncoming cars, seeing the two things we loved most in the world heading into harm’s way. We couldn’t seem to move fast enough.

Although it felt like an eternity, in an instant we were leaping forward to grasp the pram, along with a handful of other pedestrians who happened to be walking past at the time and saw the catastrophe unfold.

The buggy’s front wheel curved over the pavement’s edge onto the road as four of us grasped it and wrenched it back to safety, just in time.

Luck was on our side that day.

Another of the twins' prams. Image: supplied

"I replay the incident in my head"

I still feel guilt for what almost happened. I still replay the incident in my head from time to time and imagine what the outcome could have been.

What if the pedestrian hadn’t shouted a warning? What if the rest of the pedestrians hadn’t jumped in to help us? What if we’d been distracted for a second longer at the ATM? What if we hadn’t made it in time? The consequences could easily have been devastating.

How the incident changed things for me

After the incident, I felt like I couldn’t fully trust the buggy again.

I realised that pausing to press the button at pedestrian crossings could be dangerous, turning to lock the door, loading the car in a car park, or waiting for a train. All may involve you taking your hand from the buggy for a second, and if you happen to take two hands off for a second then the buggy wasn’t safe.

While we now knew the dangers, I was worried about letting family members take our boys out on walks as this was always at the back of my mind.

I’d craved a lightweight, easy to push stroller that could turn easily and go up and down pavements. We’d done hours of research to find just that. What I didn’t appreciate was the downside of a buggy like this is that it can roll away on its own.

It's very selling point turned out to be its potentially most dangerous feature.

I’ll always be grateful for our positive outcome as it was just down to luck and timing. The fact the pedestrian happened to be walking by and shouted to warn us. The fact that multiple people jumped in to grab the handle bar. That the car was a few metres away when the buggy began to go into the road so we had a second to pull it back…

A moment can change everything. Life is precious and fragile, and a split-second event can result in an absolutely devastating tragedy as it did with this heroic father who did everything he could to save his babies.

My heart truly goes out to everyone impacted by this incident. It’s something that really could happen to any of us.

Originally published as All it took was a split second... we watched our boys' pram roll away