'Happy and cheeky' girl, 3, killed by reversing Hermes driver was in blind spot, inquest hears
A three-year-old girl killed when a Hermes delivery van reversed over her was in the driver's blind spot, an inquest heard.
Milliee-Ann Rae McKellar was playing in the street outside her grandmother's home when she was hit by the Mercedes Sprinter in March 2021. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Following an investigation into the incident, which happened in Calne, Wiltshire, police confirmed last year that the driver would not be prosecuted.
An inquest into Milliee's death in Salisbury this week heard that the driver had entered the cul-de-sac and parked up - with two wheels up on the pavement - to deliver parcels.
He returned to his van and started reversing after checking his mirrors and rear camera, but Milliee was in his blind spot.
She was hit by the van and fell to the ground before being run over.
After Milliee's death, her mother's cousin Tara Elizabeth organised a fundraiser for the family, describing Milliee as "a happy, cheeky, kind little girl who will be missed dearly".
The inquest heard that Milliee's mother, Tanzin Wells, told police her daughter would play with other children in the street, had good knowledge of road safety and would stop and look when crossing a road.
She said she was sitting in a nearby garden with neighbours when the incident happened and was keeping an eye on Milliee through the gaps in a picket fence, telling police her daughter was standing on the pavement when she was hit.
But PS Jonathan Brooks, an officer assigned to the forensic collision investigation unit, said in his opinion the three-year-old would have been standing in the carriageway at the time of impact.
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Neighbour Steven Hargreaves, in a statement, said he had arrived home moments before the incident and was standing at his kitchen window when he saw the delivery drive run back to the van and jump into it - approaching it from the front.
He said he saw Milliee try to move when the van started reversing, but said she "didn't stand a chance" and was hit by the van.
He rushed out to help the youngster, who he said had suffered obvious crush injuries.
PS Brooks confirmed that the police investigation found that Milliee would have been in the driver's blind spot - and would not have been seen when he checked his mirrors and the van's rearview camera.
He said considering Milliee's size and weight in comparison to the size and power of the van, as the driver dropped off the kerb it is "unlikely he was able to appreciate what was occurring".
He added: "It is my view that he wouldn't have realised what was occurring until Milliee and the scooter [that she was holding] came into view."
The inquest heard that Milliee suffered fractures to her skull, as well as brain swelling and multiple pelvic fractures.
Recording her cause of death as a road traffic collision, the coroner passed his condolences to her family.
