By Jessica McSweeney and Riley Walter
A man screamed, “I killed my daughter” as neighbours desperately tried to revive a toddler found unresponsive in a car outside a Sydney childcare centre.
Roy Gomes was mowing his lawn near a childcare centre on Marana Road in Earlwood about 5.30pm on Tuesday when he heard the screams.
Neighbour Roy Gomes frantically tried to save the child.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
Gomes said he rushed to the daycare centre to find a man pulling a 15-month-old girl from the back of a car. He tried to perform CPR on the toddler as other neighbours splashed the child with water to cool her down.
“It all happened so quick; he was screaming, the poor guy, he kept screaming ‘I killed my daughter’,” Gomes said.
“I didn’t sleep much last night; I can see the little baby’s face all night … she was just floppy, no life. It’s really shattering.”
Police have spoken to the child’s father, who has not been arrested or charged with a crime. They believe he was picking up his daughter from the daycare centre when he discovered he had accidentally left her in the car during the day.
People arrive the daycare centre on Wednesday morning.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
The girl was declared dead at the scene.
On Wednesday morning, parents and neighbours left bundles of flowers outside the childcare centre as children trickled into the building. Detectives were seen entering the centre about 9am where they spoke to staff as children played.
Superintendent Christine McDonald said on Tuesday night that the girl’s official cause of death was not yet known, however information provided to police “suggests that this baby was left inside the vehicle for an extended period of time on a very hot day here in Sydney”.
“Leaving a child in a vehicle at any time can be dangerous. Leaving a child inside a vehicle for an extended period of time can be deadly,” she said.
A distraught man speaking with police at the scene on Tuesday. Credit: TNV
The father was taken to hospital for shock and was assisting police. He is expected to be interviewed once his condition has improved.
A worker at the childcare centre did not answer questions when approached on Wednesday morning but told reporters, “Obviously, the childcare has nothing to do with this”.
Gomes said the incident was a shock for the community, which is used to seeing parents and young children coming and going from the centre.
He said educators from the childcare centre had told him the girl was the parents’ only child.
People place flowers outside the Jelly Beings Early Learning Centre on Wednesday morning.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
The girl’s mother was also assisting investigators on Tuesday night. She has not been arrested or charged, McDonald said.
Police are working to establish how long the girl had been in the car and whether she was supposed to have been dropped at the childcare centre earlier on Tuesday, details that will form part of their investigation.
“We need to seek that information from people that we’re currently speaking to or waiting to speak to,” McDonald said.
McDonald said the child’s death was an “absolute tragedy” and that support was being offered to first responders and community members.
“It is difficult for first responders. It’s certainly not necessarily what we train for; it’s never easy going to jobs like this, but we do it day in, day out, and there are support services available for our police and first responders.”
McDonald said her “thoughts and prayers” were with staff at the childcare centre and the parents of other children who attend the centre.
“Most childcare centres are tight-knit. The teachers know the children and the babies so well they’re like their own family. They might not know right now who the baby girl is, but obviously, in time, they will start to identify who it is, and my thoughts and prayers are with them because that will be a very, very difficult time”.
Premier Chris Minns said he would receive a briefing from police about the “heartbreaking” incident.
“Anyone in that family, I’m devastated for them, and I am also thinking about emergency service workers,” he said.
The childcare centre, which is not accused of any wrongdoing, has been contacted for comment.
The incident comes two years after a three-year-old boy died in Guildford in similar circumstances.
His father forgot to drop him off at daycare on February 2, 2023, after strapping him into the back seat. He made the terrible discovery of his boy’s body more than six hours.
The father told witnesses, “I just forgot”.
In December last year a 10-year-old boy named Bentley died after he became trapped in a car boot during a game of hide-and-seek. The local temperature reached 35 degrees outdoors that day.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.