A two-year-old boy died in a tragic accident after a TV and marble fireplace toppled over and struck him on the head, an inquest found today.
Carter Walsh, described as an ‘inquisitive young man’, had been dancing to the children’s TV programme Cocomelon shortly before the accident at his home in Wigan on September 18.
The flatscreen TV weighing between 25 and 30kg (55-66lb) was resting on top of the fireplace and neither had been fitted to the living room wall of the rented property in Fisher Close, Bolton Coroner’s Court was told.
The toddler, who was knocked unconscious and went into cardiac arrest, was taken by ambulance to Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan.
He could not be revived and was pronounced dead the same afternoon.
Detective Inspector Stuart Woodhead, of Greater Manchester Police, told the inquest: ‘I believe he had gone towards the fireplace and potentially grabbed the mantelpiece.
‘He didn’t suffer, he didn’t know what was going on. It was an instantaneous event.’
Concluding the death was an accident, Greater Manchester West area coroner Peter Sigee told his family: ‘I give my condolences and I am so sorry we have had to meet in such tragic circumstances.
Carter Walsh pictured on September 18, 2024 before his tragic death
Carter suffered a head injury in the tragic accident and was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead
The toddler is pictured with his mother, Samantha
His heartbroken mother, Samantha Walsh, 38, previously described Carter as ‘my best friend’.
She continued: ‘He was well-loved, not just by his family but by anybody that met him. He broke the hearts of everybody he met… He was the apple of our eyes.’
Carter’s aunt Natalie Prescott, 35, said the toddler had been having ‘the best day ever’ after he got to meet some horses, with photos showing him gazing up at one of them.
Carter was then driven back to his home in Wigan.
But disaster struck as they were dancing in the living room when the marble fireplace collapsed – after its bottom section ‘snapped’ – and fell on him.
Ms Prescott said: ‘The fireplace, it just collapsed in the middle.
‘It was giving and it’s just collapsed and it’s just come forward. It was a marble fireplace.’
Ms Walsh, a mother of four, learned of the incident moments later when Saskia rang her to say that there had been an accident.
Carter was dancing in the living room when the marble fireplace collapsed and fell on him
She recalled: ‘She was very calm at first and she just said ”You need to come home, Carter has banged his head”.
‘I don’t know if she was doing that to keep me calm.
‘I was waiting for a taxi, and I was on my way home, and then I just kept ringing her. And every time I rang her, I could tell it was serious.
‘She started to panic because she knew I was on my way back.
‘I rang my mum. She came and picked me up.
‘And when I got there, they were still working on him – the ambulance and the police.
‘They let me see him, and then they said, ‘Right, we need to get him to hospital’.’
Ms Walsh said her mother, who is a nurse, had warned her to prepare for the worst after they found out that Carter would not be airlifted to hospital.
His devastated mother described him as ‘the apple of my eye’
She added: ‘They said, ‘We’re going to Wigan [hospital]. I knew then, there was nothing because they cancelled the air ambulance.
‘My mum is a nurse at the hospital. So she knew as well. So she just said, ‘Prepare yourself when you get to the hospital’.’
Devastated Ms Walsh said when she saw Carter on the ward, he had looked ‘peaceful’ and there were no signs that he had suffered a life-threatening injury.
‘There was no bruising or anything to his face. The cut was covered over. There were no visible injuries,’ she said.
‘He’s had loads of checks at the hospital. They’ve said he had been healthy [prior to the accident]. Everything was fine.’
