‘I shook her and she was just all limp’: Father found ‘bubbly’ little girl unconscious in a hot car
A five-year-old girl found in limp in a car in Port Stephens on Tuesday afternoon, when temperatures reached 37C, has died in hospital. Earlier this week, her devastated father opened up about the tragic circumstances.
Newcastle
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A five-year-old girl who was found inside a parked car in Port Stephens last week has died in hospital.
Natasha Gorjup was found by her parents last Tuesday unconscious after she was playing and crawled into their family ca,r which was parked in the driveway of their Tanilba Bay home. Temperatures in the area hit 37.5C that afternoon.
She was airlifted by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle and was fighting for life but she tragically died in hospital this morning.
Police from Port Stephens-Hunter Police District will now prepare a report for the information of the Coroner.
DAD ALOIZ GORJUP’S NIGHTMARE
Natasha’s distraught father Aloiz Gorjup last week told The Newcastle News “it was all just a horrible mistake, an accident”.
Mr Gorjup called emergency services after he found his daughter unresponsive in the hot car.
“I opened the door and she was leaning against the door and I thought she was crying and I said, ‘Are you alright, Tash?’ and I got no response,” he said.
“I shook her and she was just all limp and so I picked her up and brought her in.
“I called out to my wife and put her on the floor and I rang up the ambos straight away.
“It was all just a horrible mistake, an accident.”
It is not known how long the “beautiful, bubbly little girl” was in the car.
“It was about 2pm when she went to play,” Mr Gorjup said.
“I went down to see my wife Jessica because she was feeling crook and was having a lay down.
“She said, ‘how’s the girls’, and I said ‘pretty good’.
“She said, ‘what about Tash?’ I said ‘I think she’s outside in the sand pit’.”
Mr Gorjup said he opened the curtains to check on her.
“She wasn’t there so I went out the front door,” he said.
“I thought if she’s not in the backyard, she’s got to be out the front.
“That’s when I noticed the back passenger door on the car was slightly ajar. I usually lock the doors but I didn’t have the keys when we got home.
“She’d crawled in to the car and I don’t know how long she was in there, obviously long enough to do some serious damage.”
At the time, Mr Gorjup said he and his wife, who are also parents to Lexi, 4, were by Natasha’s bedside and praying for her recovery.
Police from Port Stephens-Hunter Police District will now prepare a report for the information of the Coroner.
The incident follows Brisbane woman Kerri-Ann Conley, 27, being charged with two counts of murder after her two daughters died following exposure to extreme heat inside her car.