From deadly heat to ice cream and giggles: Nevaeh makes a miraculous recovery
A central Queensland toddler is “sitting up and responsive” in a Brisbane hospital after being left on a childcare minibus for almost six hours.
Nevaeh Austin was left in a van as the temperature hit 28C outside Le Smileys Early Learning Centre at Gracemere, near Rockhampton, on Wednesday.
The three-year-old was flown to Queensland Childrenās Hospital in Brisbane in a critical condition, but sheās now stable and conscious.
Her grandmotherĀ Pamela Parker said her granddaughter has pulled through and had been āgiggling, squealing and eating ice creamāĀ in hospital.
Parker said the scenario had looked much different on Wednesday after seeing Nevaehās ālittle lifeless bodyā.
āTo see herĀ yesterday afternoon on FaceTime, happy and then last night eating ice cream, being cheeky,ā Parker said.
āThere areĀ no words that I can maybe find to describe the feeling, how I felt when I saw her the first time yesterday and last night, it was just amazing.
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āMy baby little girl sheās a fighter.ā
Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll says the investigation into how she was left on the minibus in continuing.
āI want my staff to be extraordinarily thorough about this to get the bottom of what occurred in Gracemere,ā she told reporters on Friday.
Nevaeh was the only passenger after being collected from her home about 9am on Wednesday.
The mini-van was parked at the centreās front door, but the two staff left the toddler in the vehicle.
As temperatures climbed to almost 30C, Nevaeh remained strapped into her seat, clutching her bag.
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Almost six hours later, a staff member setting off for the after-school pick-up finally discovered the unconscious preschooler.
Earlier investigations suggest the two staff members who were on board the bus simply forgot Nevaeh.
āThis should not have happened,ā Premier Annastacia told reporters.
āIām very grateful to hear that the young girl is now sitting up and responsive that I think every Queenslander would be so delighted to hear that news.ā
Opposition Leader David Crisafulli welcomed the news, calling it a āgreat story of survivalā.
But he said the incident raises serious questions about the centre, and the state government, after a three-year boy died in a similar incident in 2020.
āToday is the day to be grateful that a little girl has pulled through, but in the weeks ahead questions should be answered because this canāt keep happening,ā Crisafulli told reporters on Friday.
āQuestions that have to be answered, and those questions relate to the systems that are in place both at a local level at the centre, but also what steps the government has taken to make sure that this is a priority.
Maliq Nicholas Floyd Namok-Malamoo, known as Meeky, died after being left on a hot bus in Cairns in February 2020.
His death prompted a change to state laws changed in 2020, placing obligations on all services transporting children.
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