Lilly Angel Rodgers, 11, suffered a fatal penetrating chest injury while playing with friends at Wacker Quay in Cornwall. A coroner ruled her death accidental
A young girl from Devon tragically lost her life when a concealed branch in the mud pierced her heart as she played with mates on a summer’s day in Cornwall.
Lilly Angel Rodgers was doing star jumps and performing a ‘commando crawl’ in the mud flats, sliding down a muddy bank when a hidden sharp branch or root punctured her ribs, an inquest heard.
An inquest into the death of the 11-year-old from Newton Abbot, held in Truro on Monday heard how Lilly had been a fit, healthy and incredibly active youngster who adored the outdoors and activities like surfing, climbing, camping and stand-up paddle boarding.
The night before her heartbreaking accident, Lilly had spent at a mate’s house, staying up late, as children often do, the hearing was informed.
The little girl, born in Torbay, had been playing in the mud flats with her two friends – something they had done on numerous other occasions as all were familiar with the spot at Wacker Quay, Torpoint, reports Cornwall Live. Wacker Quay is part of the Tamar Valley landscape and offers free public access to the River Lynher.
The three children were about 50 metres from the shore where there was a bank sliding down towards a channel in the River Lynher. The inquest heard how the mum of the other two children called them back to be within her line of sight while she and her partner prepared a barbecue.
The mother recounted how the children were frolicking in the mud and “crawling commando-style”. She said that after she called them back so she could keep an eye on them, the three children carried on playing, doing star jumps then sliding head first down the muddy bank where the channel was.
It was at this moment that Lilly stood up, clutched her chest and gasped before collapsing face-first into the mud. The adults were alerted to the unfolding crisis by the screams of the other children, leading to a challenging rescue operation.
The inquest heard how the mother of the other children and her partner attempted to reach Lilly before another adult arrived and emergency services were summoned. A branch had severed a pulmonary artery, causing her heart to stop.
Paramedics arrived but meaningful CPR could only be administered once the unconscious girl was airlifted to dry land by the coastguard search and rescue helicopter. It took 40 minutes to transport Lilly from the mud flats back to shore.
The young girl was later taken to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth where she was pronounced dead. James Garvican, a consultant pathologist at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, subsequently conducted a postmortem examination of Lilly’s body.
He informed the inquest that he was surprised to discover a wound near the top of Lilly’s ribcage. He said the wound, when examined in detail, was 7cm deep inside Lilly’s chest. Dr Garvican recorded the medical cause of death as “penetrating chest trauma”.
He told the inquest how it was most likely a branch or pointy root hidden below the surface of the mud in the bank which caused the fatal injury. He added: “It’s extremely bad luck. Half an inch to the right and it would just have glanced off her ribcage and left a bruise and a scratch. Half an inch to the left and it may still have gone in but it would not have damaged vital organs. This was not a survivable injury.”
Dr Garvican said to survive such an injury one would have had to suffer it while standing in front of a surgeon and anaesthetist with a hospital theatre ready and prepared to carry out an emergency operation. He said Lilly had likely lost consciousness immediately and had not been aware of any rescue attempt or CPR taking place.
Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed that there were no suspicious circumstances or third party involvement in Lilly’s death. The force said the area of Wacker Quay where the incident occurred is owned by the Ministry of Defence but leased to the Tamar Community Trust and no incident of this nature had ever happened in 40 years.
The inquest was told that the trust and MoD have since installed additional signage at Wacker Quay warning visitors of the possible hidden dangers in the mud.
Andrew Cox, senior coroner for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said playing in the mud is the sort of things that kids do, adding: “It’s what I did too as a child.” He added: “Whatever Lilly fell on caused the wound found at the postmortem and resulted in her death.
“There was nothing suspicious. In the circumstances it was the most truly, desperately and unlikely accident. Lilly slid on a branch with a sharp point that had been covered by the mud.
“Lilly and her friends had played many times before in that location. She was being watched over by adults who had made sure she stayed within their line of sight. There has been no previous incident of that nature at this site for 40 years. This is by any measure a desperately unfortunate sequence of events.”
Mr Cox concluded it was an accidental death.
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