Inquest into the death of Tremaine GATT
Deceased
Tremaine Gatt
Demographics
4y, male
Date of death
2013-10-01
Finding date
2015-06-18
Cause of death
Multiple injuries due to motor vehicle collision
AI-generated summary
A 4-year-old child died from multiple injuries sustained in a motor vehicle collision on a busy arterial road in Kempsey. The child ran from between two parked cars onto the road directly in front of an approaching vehicle travelling at approximately 45 km/h. The driver had no opportunity to brake in time. Crash investigation found no evidence of excessive speed, mechanical failure, or driver impairment. However, the coroner identified lack of adult supervision as a critical contributing factor. Although adults were present nearby, none assisted the child to cross the road. The coroner emphasized that young children lack the developmental capacity to safely judge road hazards independently and require active adult assistance when crossing roads, particularly on busy thoroughfares.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- Lack of adult supervision
- Child ran onto roadway from between parked vehicles with limited visibility
- Busy arterial road with high vehicular and pedestrian traffic
- Limited visibility due to parked vehicles
- Child unable to safely judge road hazards or vehicle approach
Coroner's recommendations
- Emphasis on the critical importance of adult supervision for small children near roadways
- Recognition that no traffic signage can substitute for active adult assistance in helping children safely cross roads
Full text
Related cases
Source and disclaimer
This page reproduces or summarises information from publicly available findings published by Australian coroners' courts. Coronial is an independent educational resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any coronial court or government body.
Content may be incomplete, reformatted, or summarised. All court orders for redaction and non-publication are respected; documents with technically defective redaction have been excluded from the database entirely. Always refer to the original court publication for the authoritative record.
Copyright in original materials remains with the relevant government jurisdiction. AI-generated summaries and tagging are for educational purposes only, may contain inaccuracies, and must not be treated as legal documents. We welcome feedback for correction —