An extremely fortunate six-month old baby boy strapped into his stroller rolled off a train platform into the path of an oncoming train on Thursday in Melbourne, Australia. Despite being pushed along the train track for 131 feet, the baby ended up with only a small bump and cut on the forehead.
John Rees, a spokesman for train operator Connex, said "It's a miracle this baby wasn't killed. The baby managed to escape with just a cut to the forehead, I'm told. It's a complete miracle."
The entire incident was captured on closed circuit TV at Ashburton railway station in Melbourne, Victoria. The footage shows the baby's mother momentarily releasing her grasp on the stroller to adjust her clothing, after which the stroller rolls over the edge of the platform just as a train pulls into the station.
One can see in the video that the baby's mother was so distraught that she almost went off the platform after the baby. She probably would have had the train not arrived immediately after the stroller slipped onto the tracks.
The miracle baby was treated at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital and then released to his mother.
The following video is an Associated Press report of the incident:
This is the first photo released of Darcey Iris Freeman, the four-year-old girl that Arthur Freeman, her father, allegedly tossed from the West Gate Bridge in Melbourne, Australia last week.
The family stated that Darcey was a beautiful, carefree, spirited youngster who "loved to sing and dance." Young Darcey was murdered on what was supposed to be her first day of school, and her father had promised her to get her there on time. For whatever reason, he did not keep his promise.
Tim Barnes, one of Darcey's uncles, told of Darcey's strong will and determination and spoke of the "extreme sense of loss and emptiness" which has gripped all who knew her, including family, friends and many well wishers around the world.
"She knew her own mind and was prepared to always stand up for what she believed in. One memory that stands out in my mind was her choice of clothes," he reportedly told the Melbourne Herald Sun.
"She would wear what she wanted to wear, end of story - even if it meant wearing pink Wellington boots to tennis."
Joe Barnes, another of Darcey's uncles, said, "She's given us a lot of fun. She was into everything. She will never be forgotten. She had an effect on everybody."
Both uncles said that the emotional outpouring from people from around the world in the wake of the death has been overwhelming. Both of the Barnes uncles said they hoped the death of Darcy would remind all parents everywhere that their children are precious and irreplaceable.
Darcey's maternal relatives have traveled from Western Australia to Victoria to be with Darcey's mother and to help with funeral arrangements.
Arthur Freeman, the father, has not spoken to anyone. He is detained at the Melbourne Assessment Prison's acute psychiatric ward, where doctors said he is suicidal and they are keeping a 24-hour watch on his prison cell.
A Melbourne, Australia, father was arrested and charged with murder after allegedly dropping his four year old daughter off of Melbourne's 190-foot high West Gate Bridge during the morning rush hour. 36-year-old Arthur Phillip Freeman allegedly threw his four-year-old daughter off the bridge in front of the girl's two young brothers, ages 6 and 8, and dozens of motorists.
Witnesses said Freeman allegedly stopped his car suddenly just after 9 AM and, with his daughter Darcey Iris in his arms, walked to the side of the bridge. There he allegedly dropped his young daughter over the side of the bridge into the waters of the Yarra River, 190 feet below.
Freeman then reportedly got back into the large white family Land Cruiser, and simply drove away. Shocked drivers who witnessed the alleged murder immediately called emergency hotlines. Police stated the entire incident occurred in merely seconds.
Young Darcey initially survived her fall, and she was pulled from the water by police within 10 minutes. Paramedics spent the next 50 minutes resuscitating her on the banks of the Yarra River.
Then Darcey, in a critical condition, was lifted by helicopter to the nearby Royal Children’s Hospital where she was treated for four hours. However, a Royal Children's Hospital spokeswoman said the young girl soon died at 1.35pm on Thursday, January 29th.
Regarding the bridge incident, Victoria homicide squad Detective Inspector Steve Clark said, "It all happened fairly quickly…no one had the opportunity to intervene".
"He's got straight out of the car and taken the young girl and walked to the edge of the bridge, so that would have happened in a matter of seconds.”
"Fortunately, the water police were here within 10 minutes so she was given medical attention fairly quickly.”
"It's a dreadful set of circumstances and, often you think you've seen it all and you haven't."
Freeman and his wife had been in the middle of a custody battle. He was spotted, accompanied by his two sons, Benjamin, 7, and Jack, 23 months (ages of Freeman‘s children have varied in different reports), outside the Commonwealth Law Courts across town in central Melbourne only an hour after the bridge incident.
He was reportedly in a “visibly distressed” state and was then arrested by police. A member of the court's staff said the man was crying and looked like "he'd had enough".
The first video is a report of the incident by "The Australian" Newspaper:
Fox news reported that the security staff at the courts building said Freeman “was shaking like a leaf, and staring with wild eyes” when they initially spotted him and alerted police. Police took him into custody peacefully, but said they were initially unaware he was involved in the bridge incident.
One witness reported that Freeman approached court security guards and ask them "Can you take my kids for me?" while he was led away by police
The next video is an Associated Press report of the murder:
Another witness saw four police officers, two of them holding evidence bags, lead the handcuffed Freeman to a waiting Police van.
The man, whom she described as balding, was "shaking violently".
“He was pretty down and he had the two other children with him and he tried to enter the court. He couldn't talk to anyone, he wouldn't talk to anyone, he was just a mess,'' said another eye witness Vince Mascia.
One of the witnesses said the man was shaking uncontrollably and looked like he was "about to have a nervous breakdown".
The third video is a report by the Telegraph in Great Britain:
About half-an-hour later, a couple at the courthouse saw the arrival of a woman they believed to be the mother of the two boys, who subsequently took them away.
Freeman was charged with murder and set to appear before a criminal court. He was deemed "suicidal" by court psychiatrists and the court remanded him into custody.
