Toddler run over after following cat

Police have launched an investigation after an 18-month-old boy died after a car backed over him in Waikato yesterday.

Sergeant Graham McGurk said the boy was with his mother at the front of their Matamata property.

He said it appears the boy followed a cat onto a neighbour's driveway while a man from the house next door was reversing his car.

The boy suffered head injuries and was flown to Waikato Hospital by the Lion Foundation Rescue Helicopter but died a short time later.

Mr McGurk said the boy had been in the front yard about 6pm when he followed the cat.

"Tragically, at the same time as this, a young man from the house next door was reversing his car and the toddler was struck," he said.

Police were told the incident happened in a "matter of seconds".

The Waikato Serious Crash Unit is investigating the crash and Mr McGurk said it was too early to say what, if any, charges would be laid.

- NEWSTALK ZB, NZPA