A three-year-old girl tragically killed in a devastating crash in Caboolture has been identified, as her grieving family shares heartbreaking memories of the loving child.
Esha had just been picked up from daycare and was walking home with her mother, grandmother, and younger brother when she was struck by a Nissan Navara at the corner of Lynfield Drive and Toohey Street in Caboolture, about an hour north of Brisbane, at approximately 6:47 pm on Tuesday.
Paramedics treated Esha for critical injuries, but she could not be saved.
Her grandmother, Amtus Akber, described the little girl as “full of life and full of energy.”
“She was a special child, a very, very loving child. Loveable and loving child,” she told 7NEWS. “The way she loved you, the way she hugged you.”
CCTV footage from a nearby home captured the moments before the tragedy, showing the family walking along the side of the road.
Locals told 7NEWS they heard “harrowing and heartbreaking screams” and rushed to help, but said there was little they could do.
“I ran up to see what was going on and to see if there was anything that I could do, but it was too far gone,” neighbour Jason Lubbers said.
Another resident, Kevin Taylor, witnessed the aftermath and said he saw a woman clutching a child to her chest.
“It was sad — she was distraught, very, very distraught,” he said.
Taylor suggested that a bus may have obstructed the driver’s view as the ute turned from Lynfield Drive into Toohey Street.
Police believe Esha was on the road when she was hit by the vehicle as it turned.
Her mother, grandmother, and younger brother were taken to hospital suffering from shock, along with the driver.
Police say the incident is being treated as a tragic accident, with investigations ongoing.
“We just spent hours with the family and they are absolutely distraught… just disbelief they’ve lost their three-year-old daughter, three-year-old granddaughter,” Queensland Police Sergeant Greg Price from the Burpengary Forensic Crash Unit said.
Flowers and teddy bears now line the roadside as the community mourns the young girl.
Anyone with information, CCTV, or dashcam vision is urged to contact police.
