Blacktown mum shares heartbreak over daughter’s driveway death

The mother of a one-year-old who was run over by her neighbour’s car has paid tribute to her “perfect little girl” who loved animals and dancing.

Abbey Vella was only a metre away when her worst nightmare happened and knows she will be haunted by the horror of what she saw and heard forever.

One moment her 18-month-old daughter Amelia – “the most perfect little girl the world has ever known” – was there. The next she was gone.

Crushed under a car in the driveway of the townhouse complex where they lived – a space often used as a playground by her siblings and other children.

Toddler Amelia died on October 20 after she was run over by her neighbour's car in a Blacktown driveway.

“I will never forget the sound of my baby girl screaming out for the last time. Only a metre away from me but by the time I got there she was already gone,” the heartbroken mum told The Daily Telegraph.

Ms Vella said she was winding the windows on her car when her neighbour paused his vehicle next to her for a conversation before proceeding to park at the Blacktown complex on October 20.

“(I saw as) he ran over her, and then reversed back over her. I saw the front of his car lift over her as he was reversing,” she recalled.

“(Amelia) walked in front of the car because she thought it was safe as he had paused his car to try and speak to me, she was a very smart girl and she knew how to be safe. She would never walk in front of a car that was driving.”

Amelia was described by her mum as an animal lover.

Distraught mum Abbey Vella said their family will never be whole again.

Little Amelia was in a critical condition when paramedics arrived at the scene but later died at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

Ms Vella said children often played in the driveway area. The day after the accident children’s toys were pictured near the driveway.

“I lived in a townhouse complex that is full of children, every single person there knows just how many kids play there,” she said.

In her pain, Ms Vella wants her daughter remembered not for the tragedy surrounding her death but for the joy she brought to her large blended family and others.

“Our family will never be whole again without our perfect little girl but our beautiful girl will not be forgotten. The entire family are heart broken,” she said.

“She was the most perfect little girl the world has ever known. She was and always will be so loved by everyone that was ever blessed with her presence.”

The toddler was described as a “perfect little girl” who was loved by all. Picture: Richard Dobson

Ms Vella described her daughter as cheeky, beautiful and brilliant who loved music and dancing and Facetime calls with extended family members.

“She loved animals, from the birds soaring in the sky, to the tiniest ant on the ground. If she saw anyone she thought was upset she would stop what she was doing and ask them ‘Aww what happen?’,” Ms Vella said.

Police said no charges had been laid against the driver. Inquiries into the tragedy were continuing.