‘Tragic incident’ killed two-year-old boy in Wiltshire

Rufus Davies suffered fatal head injuries in the collision across the border near Marlborough, Wiltshire, in May 2025.

Wiltshire and Swindon Coroner’s Court heard Rufus was with his family visiting friends when the accident happened.

They had pulled on to the drive of the property in Tidcombe and were waiting for the friend, Tamsin Hayward, to return.

Rufus’s mother, Olivia Davies, let him out of the car as Mrs Hayward pulled on to the driveway.

“I told Rufus that Tamsin had arrived, and he was so excited to see her, he wriggled to get out of the car,” Mrs Davies said in a written statement.

“I opened the driver’s door and helped him down. He ran round the back of the car.

“I figured Tamsin would park the nose of her car straight in next to mine and that in the time between his feet touching the ground and running behind my car she would have parked.

“It turns out she wanted to reverse her car in.

“I reached for my phone, water bottle and jumper from the passenger side, and as I got out of the driver’s door, I heard my daughter say to me, ‘Mummy, Rufus has been hit by Tamsin’s car’.

“I then ran to the back of my car and saw Rufus laying on the floor.”

After realising she had struck the youngster, Mrs Hayward exited the car and started CPR while waiting for paramedics to arrive.

But he was declared dead at the scene later.

In a written statement, Mrs Hayward said she reversed her Porsche Macan on to her drive, which was her usual practice.

“I always drive very slowly in through the gate and into the drive,” she said.

“Olivia and her daughter were standing on the grass outside their car on the driver’s side.

“I was really happy to see them and waved at them and said ‘hello’ as I drove in and had my driver’s window down.

“I knew that Rufus was also coming that day, but he wasn’t standing with Olivia and her daughter on the driver’s side or anywhere to be seen on the driveway when I drove in.

“I drove forward into the driveway, moving anti-clockwise around the grass circular island on my driveway.

“Apart from Olivia and her daughter, the driveway was clear and there was no one else to be seen.

“I drove approximately 180 degrees around the island, drew to a stop to then reverse back into my usual parking space.

“In the second I was looking between my right wing mirror and rear view mirror, about halfway into the parking spot, I felt the car had gone over something on the driveway,” she said.

“The bump I felt was on the passenger’s rear side of the car. I exited the car and saw a child lying on the gravel.

“To my horror I realised the gravity of the situation, and that Rufus must have been running behind me whilst I was reversing.

“I then saw Olivia running towards the back of the car with a look of horror on her face. I called 999 immediately.”

Pc Alexander Way, a collision investigator, said no faults were found with the car and Mrs Hayward had tested negative for drugs and alcohol.

He said: “The case has failed the Crown Prosecution Service threshold for any prosecution under the Road Traffic Act as the location is not deemed a public place or road, and the driving is not deemed under current case law as careless.

“It’s an extremely tragic incident with the most devastating of outcomes.”

A post-mortem examination found Rufus had died from a diffuse traumatic head injury following an impact with a motor vehicle.

Ian Singleton, the area coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon, recorded a conclusion of misadventure.