A heartbreaking final photo of a happy toddler shows him playing with a horse just minutes before he was crushed to death by a fireplace.
Two-year-old Carter Walsh was rushed to hospital with serious injuries on Wednesday afternoon after a marble fireplace fell on him in a freak accident.
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Last picture of Carter Walsh on the same day he died September 18 Credit: SWNS
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Samantha Walsh with her son Carter Credit: SWNS
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Carter was dancing with his cousin in the living room when the accident happened Credit: SWNS
The boy was looked after by his cousin at the family home in Wigan, Greater Manchester, while his mum Samantha went to work.
But disaster struck while they were dancing in the living room when the fireplace collapsed – after its bottom “cracked” – and crushed him.
Tragically, Carter was pronounced dead at the hospital a short time later.
In a photo released today, the child can be seen with a horse belonging to a family friend during a day out with his relatives.
Carter’s aunt Natalie Prescott, 35, said he went to a steakhouse for lunch with her mom, sister and daughter Saskia Prescott, 16, on Wednesday.
And he had the “best day ever” when he visited her mum’s horses – with photos showing him looking at one of them.
Speaking for the first time, his devastated mother Samantha Walsh, 38, said of her boy today: “He was my best friend.
“He was deeply loved, not only by his family, but by everyone who met him. He broke the hearts of everyone he met… He was the apple of our eyes.”
After lunch, Carter was driven back to his home where Saskia played with him for about 20 minutes while Samantha was out.
Not half an hour later after playing with the horses, the marble fireplace collapsed on him while he was dancing with his cousin in the living room.
Saskia and the property’s landlord, who was at the address at the time fixing the boiler, called 911 and immediately tried to resuscitate Carter.
Samantha, a mother of four, found out about the incident a few moments later when Saskia called her and said there had been an accident.
Samantha said: “She was very calm at first and just said ‘You have to come home, Carter was banging his head.’
“I don’t know if she was doing it to calm me down.
“I was waiting for a taxi and I was on my way home, and then I just kept ringing her. And every time I called her, I knew it was serious.
“And when I arrived, they were still working on him – the ambulance and the police.
“They let me see him and then they said, ‘Okay, we have to take him to the hospital’.”
Samantha said her mom, who is a nurse, warned her to prepare for the worst after they learned Carter would not be airlifted to the hospital.
Devastated Samantha said that when she saw Carter on the ward, he appeared “calm” and there were no signs he had suffered a life-threatening injury.
She said: “It was just one head injury. But he just looked so calm… He had no bruises or anything on his face.
“The cut was covered, there were no visible injuries.
“He had a lot of tests at the hospital. They said he was healthy [prior to the accident]. Everything was fine.”
‘MY BEST FRIEND’
Samantha said that when Carter was born, he was briefly cared for by foster parents before she took full care of him.
And she struggled to come to terms with her life now that he had passed away.
Samantha said: “I had to fight to get him back from foster care. I did, I got him back and I’ve been with him every day since.
“He’s been with me for almost two years now, obviously. He’s been my best friend.
“I went back to the house. I couldn’t stay there. I went to stay with my sisters. I came back yesterday to clean up, obviously, because there was blood.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up in Carter’s memory and is asking people to donate to help his family.
It reads: “Hi, my name is Karen, I am doing a fundraising page on behalf of my niece Samantha who tragically lost her two year old son Carter in a fatal accident.”
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education