Toddler dies in fireplace incident at home as mum recounts family ordeal

Carter Walsh was playing with his cousin

A mother found out that her two-year-old son had died in an accident at home after she stepped out of the house for just 20 minutes. Samantha Walsh received the devastating news about her son, Carter Walsh, when her niece called her on Wednesday, September 18.

Initially informed that Carter had "banged his head" it was later revealed that a marble fireplace had collapsed on him after its bottom section "snapped" at their family home. The 38-year-old mum hurried back to her Wigan home in Greater Manchester, where emergency services were frantically attempting to save her precious young boy.

Despite their efforts, Carter passed away in hospital. In an emotional statement to the press, Samantha, a mother of four, expressed her grief: "He was my best friend. He was well-loved, not just by his family but by anybody that met him. He broke the hearts of everybody he met... He was the apple of our eyes."

Carter had spent what was described as the "best day ever" with family members earlier that Wednesday, including meeting his grandmother's horse and playing with his cousin and aunt Natalie Prescott, aged 35, at his home while Samantha briefly left. Tragically, less than 30 minutes later, the accident occurred, prompting an urgent call for an ambulance, reported the Mirror.

Natalie recounted the moment of the accident, saying: "The fireplace, it just collapsed in the middle. It was giving and it's just collapsed and it's just come forward. It was a marble fireplace."

At the time of the incident, the property's landlord was present, attending to a boiler issue, and immediately dialled 999, leading paramedics to rush to the scene.

Samantha, Natalie's daughter, was called to the scene. Samantha recalled: "She was very calm at first and she just said 'You need to come home, Carter has banged his head.' I don't know if she was doing that to keep me calm.

"I was waiting for a taxi, and I was on my way home, and then I just kept ringing her. And every time I rang her, I could tell it was serious. She started to panic because she knew I was on my way back.

"I rang my mum. She came and picked me up. And when I got there, they were still working on him the ambulance and the police. They let me see him, and then they said, 'Right, we need to get him to hospital'.

Samantha's mother, a nurse, had warned her to brace herself after learning that Carter would not be airlifted to hospital. Samantha added: "They said, 'We're going to Wigan [hospital].' I knew then, there was nothing... because they cancelled the air ambulance. My mum is a nurse at the hospital. So she knew as well. So she just said, 'Prepare yourself when you get to the hospital.'".

A heartbroken Samantha described seeing Carter in the ward, looking 'peaceful' with no visible signs of a life-threatening injury. She said: "It was just one head injury."

"But he just looked so peaceful... There was no bruising or anything to his face. The cut was covered over. There were no visible injuries. He's had loads of checks at the hospital. They've said he had been healthy [prior to the accident]. Everything was fine."

Samantha shared that Carter had initially been in foster care after his birth, before she took full responsibility for him. She is now grappling with the reality of life without her young son.

Samantha expressed: "I had to fight for him back out of foster care. I did that, I got him back, and I've spent every day with him since. He's been with me now nearly two years, obviously. He was my best mate."

"I've been back to the house. I couldn't stay there. I went to stay with my sisters. I went back yesterday to clean up, obviously, because there was blood."

A representative for Greater Manchester Police confirmed their support for Samantha and her family. He stated: "At around 2.15pm on Wednesday September 18, officers were called to reports regarding a concern for welfare of a child on Fisher Close, Wigan."

"Sadly, despite the best efforts of paramedics, a two year old boy later died at hospital. Enquiries are ongoing and officers are supporting the family at this time."

A representative for the North West Ambulance Service confirmed: "We attended an incident at a private address following a 999 call at 14.06. An ambulance, air ambulance, response vehicle, advanced paramedic attended. A patient was taken to hospital by road."