Toddlers run over on home ground

Rocky Newburne and Valeria Tokoar grieve for Tyreese after he was run over by a relative. Photo / Herald on Sunday

A toddler has been killed and another injured by two cars backing out of driveways - reigniting calls for increased vigilance and extra safety measures.

Yesterday, as 20-month-old Tyreese Newburne's parents grieved for their son, child advocates and the Automobile Association said motorists should install rearview cameras and sensors.

Safekids director Ann Weaver said on average four children were killed on driveways each year and more than 30 seriously injured.

"It's always a tragedy to hear about these incidents ... but the problem doesn't belong to anyone. There needs to be more public awareness around this issue."

Tyreese was fatally injured after being hit by a relative backing out of his grandmother's drive in Onekawa, Napier about 7.30pm on Friday.

Another toddler was knocked down on a drive in Flaxmere, just 20km away, about 30 minutes later.

Tyreese had been playing in the front yard but got through a gate. The driver did not see him as he backed along the road at the end of the drive.

"Another woman at the house was at the porch and saw Tyreese," said his great-aunt Donna Buchan. "She screamed at [the driver] to stop but it was too late."

Tyreese's father Rocky Newburne ran out and carried his son inside while relatives called an ambulance.

Rocky and his partner Valeria Tokoar travelled in the ambulance as paramedics tried to revive their son.

Rocky described Tyreese as a cheeky little boy who loved motorbikes. "We live on a farm and he loved feeding the pigs and going on the motorbike with his dad. I would come home for lunch looking for Ty and he'd be out on the quadbike waiting for me."

Yesterday Rocky told Tyreese's siblings - Savannah, 9, Zahn, 8, Osirus, 4 and Ashton, 3 - their brother had gone to heaven. "Ashton had been asking where Tyreese was. I took them up to the end bedroom and had a discussion with them about what had happened."

Rocky and Valeria have also spent time with the relative who hit Tyreese, who the Herald on Sunday has agreed not to name.

"He's totally devastated," said Rocky. "He's blaming himself but he's not to blame. Ty was at the wrong place at the wrong time."

The mother of the boy injured in Flaxmere, who did not want to be named, said she was bathing her other son when she heard tyres screeching and a baby crying. "When I heard the noise I knew it was him."

The boy was taken to Hawke's Bay Hospital but was due to be released last night.

"He's fine. He has a lot of grazing on his head but he's okay. "

She said more needed to be done to educate parents and drivers about driveway safety.

"I have heard of a few kids hit by cars in driveways and I always think, 'where were the parents?' But now we have been in this situation ... it's just so easy."

Automobile Association technical services general manager Stella Stocks said there was an increased demand for reversing sensors and cameras.

Plunket national child safety adviser Sue Campbell said adults should supervise children when they were playing anywhere near a road or driveway. "A small child has no chance of being seen. It is tragic."