'World A Darker Place' After Death Of One-Year-Old Pearl In Car Incident

'World A Darker Place' After Death Of One-Year-Old Pearl In Car Incident

The parents of a one-year-old girl killed when a Range Rover rolled into a wall causing it to collapse have said ''she has left a massive hole in our hearts, the world will be a darker place without her".

Pearl Melody Black died on Sunday afternoon after the unoccupied vehicle rolled down a hill at an address in Heolgerrig, Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, into a wall in an incident that also injured her younger brother.

Her parents have been named locally as Paul and Gemma Black.

Mr Black is a local tattoo artist and entertainer who appeared on the 2014 season of The Voice.

In a statement released by South Wales Police, they said: "Pearl was every single star in every single sky, she was as bright as the stars, when she looked at you with those eyes and she would melt your heart.

"She was the reddest pearl in the ocean and the sweetest melody ever written.

"She was the greatest dancer and she has left a massive hole in our hearts, the world will be a darker place without her.

"She was the reason we all lived."

Police said Pearl and her younger brother were rushed to hospital after the incident at 1.39pm on Sunday.

Pearl was taken to Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil by air ambulance but died a short time later.

Her brother had minor injuries, officers said.

Local mother Rebecca Morgan, 30, who was taking her daughter to a birthday party when she spoke to the Press Association, said she saw Mr Black standing near the site of the accident from a window on Sunday night.

Ms Morgan said the village had been eerily quiet on Monday morning after the terrible incident.

She said she understood that the family had been to the park and were walking back when the accident happened.

At around 11.15am three people placed bouquets of flowers near the damaged wall.

Another resident, Brenda Meaker, 68, said: "I've been here 30 years and I have never heard of anything like that happening.

"It is just something you can't believe; it is unbelievable that something like this could happen. I don't want to believe it and yet it is true."

One local woman, who did not want to be named, said she saw police, an ambulance and the fire brigade drive through the village at around 1.50pm.

She said the air ambulance landed near the school just after 2pm.

"My colleague knows the guy (father of the girl) and she rang me later on and said it was a (little) girl and that the handbrake went on the car and it hit the wall and then this happened."

She said she believed the car involved in the incident did not belong to a family member.

South Wales Police said an investigation was under way to establish how the toddler suffered fatal injuries in the incident.

A force spokesman said: "An investigation is now under way into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

"It is known that an unoccupied Range Rover which had been parked in a driveway, rolled down the hill and collided with a wall which collapsed.

"The family respectfully ask to be left alone to grieve at this very difficult time and are being supported by specially trained officers."

Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

A man who lives near the location of the incident said he was out at the time but had seen the helicopter.

He said Pearl's grandparents lived nearby and that Mr Black had been on television and was a singer.

The man said the community was in shock.

"I went to the pub last night and it's just devastation," he said.

"The village is quiet. It's not normally like this."

The homeowner whose garden wall was demolished said: "It is just tragic, harrowing."

He said he did not want to comment further. It is believed that the Blacks were walking past the house when Pearl was injured.

Close

What's Hot