Girl, 11, died in 'freak accident' while playing in mud when hidden branch pierced her heart, inquest hears
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A young girl died in a freak accident when a branch hidden in mud she had been playing in pierced her heart, an inquest has heard.
Lilly Angel Rodgers was killed in the 'most desperately unfortunate accident' while playing at being a starfish and doing a 'commando crawl' in mud flats at Wacker Quay in Torpoint, Cornwall on August 16 last year.
The 11-year-old slid headfirst down a muddy bank by the River Lynher and a pointy branch pierced her ribcage.
Had the branch struck half an inch to the left or right, Lilly would not have damaged any vital organs, an inquest at Cornwall Coroner's Court in Truro heard earlier.
Pathologist Dr James Garvican, who performed Lilly's post-mortem, said the wound was 7cm inside her chest.
He said she had died from 'penetrating chest trauma' and said the branch was hidden under the mud on the bank.
Dr Garvican said: 'It's extremely bad luck. Half an inch to the right and it would have glanced off her ribcage and left a bruise or 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.'
Lilly Rodgers, 11, died after a branch pierced her heart as she played on a mudflat in Cornwall
He said it was likely the girl had lost consciousness straight away and was unaware of the rescue attempt.
Lilly, from Newton Abbot, Devon, had been playing with two friends when the branch pierced her chest.
The mother of the other children said they were playing 50 yards from the shore when Lilly stood up, grabbed her chest and gasped before collapsing on to the mud.
After it pierced her chest, the branch severed a pulmonary artery and her heart stopped.
Other children screamed and told the adults what was happening before emergency services were called.
But Lilly could only be given CPR after being airlifted to land by a Coastguard search and rescue helicopter, which took 40 minutes.
She was declared dead after being taken to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.
The inquest heard she had been a fit, healthy and very active young girl who loved the outdoors and activities including surfing, climbing, camping and paddle-boarding.
Senior Cornwall coroner Andrew Cox recorded a verdict of accidental death, saying it was a 'most truly, desperately and unlikely accident' and a 'desperately unfortunate sequence of events'.
He added: '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.'
The land where Lilly was injured is owned by the Ministry of Defence but leased to the Tamar Community Trust.
No event of this kind had happened in 40 years, the inquest heard, while the trust and the MoD have since put up signs at Wacker Quay to warn of the possible danger.
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