The death of a three-year-old girl after her father fell on her while playing at an Upper Hutt park was "a tragic accident", the coroner has ruled.
In August last year, a father was pushing his daughter, Amberlie Pennington-Foley, on a type of merry-go-round at Harcourt Park when he started to lose his balance.
He went to jump off the seating platform but at that point the ring spun around and he fell, hitting Amberlie with his full weight.
When he got up from the ground, he saw his daughter climb off the seating platform. She was standing but "very wobbly" and he noticed blood around her nose and on her top.
He immediately picked her up and carried her to the car, deciding it would be quicker to drive her to the local medical centre, which was three to four minutes away, rather than wait for an ambulance.
Medical staff immediately started resuscitation efforts and called an ambulance, but the child could not be revived.
She had suffered serious brain and spinal cord injuries, including a skull fracture.
The merry-go-round, a sloping disc called a "Supernova", was inspected by Upper Hutt City Council staff immediately after the incident but no defects were found.
Coroner JP Ryan said there was no evidence the father was operating the equipment "in a dangerous or reckless manner", rather "he was spinning the ring in a gentle manner... his daughter was enjoying the ride and begging for more".
"In my view, Amberlie died as a result of a tragic accident that occurred in the context of a father playing with his child on a relatively benign piece of playground equipment."
The coroner has not made any recommendations.
"Amberlie's death was a tragic accident in the true sense of the word."
