Child dies after being hit by roller

File photo / NZH

A child died on a Waikato farm when he was struck and killed by a roller his father was driving.

Three-year-old Dayton Claude Isaacs suffered serious head injuries about 8.30pm on Saturday. He died at the scene.

Senior Sergeant Dave Simes said the boy had spent the evening riding on the roller with his father, a contractor working on a new farm race on a Te Kawa property, off State Highway 3 south of Te Awamutu.

"While the father was working he lost sight of his son who was struck down by the roller, suffering serious head injuries," Mr Simes told the Waikato Times.

"The father is obviously very distraught and has asked for the family's privacy at this time."

The boy's death has been referred to the coroner and is also the subject of a Labour department investigation.

- NZPA