Community pays tribute to ‘hero’ teacher's aide after deadly Riddells Creek preschool crash

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Victoria Macedon Ranges Shire Council has paid tribute to a teacher’s aide who was killed when a truck ploughed into the grounds of a preschool north-west of Melbourne yesterday afternoon.

Transcript

00:00The devastating impact of this horror crash yesterday afternoon is still vividly apparent

00:07here.

00:08I'm standing on the road where this water tanker veered off onto the wrong side of the

00:13road and crashed behind me into a pole as well as clipping this tree.

00:19You can see how the bark has been sheared off, crashing through a fence, clipping another

00:25tree behind me as well, and then smashing into playground equipment, reducing it to

00:30wooden splinters.

00:32Forty-three-year-old teacher's aide Eleanor Bryant was killed and a three-year-old boy

00:37suffered injuries to his upper arm.

00:40He's in the Royal Children's Hospital in a stable condition.

00:44But we've heard from the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Shane Patton, who has

00:49spoken of just how brave Eleanor Bryant was to push children out of the way to safety

00:57and away from this oncoming water tanker.

01:00And he says there's no doubt whatsoever that she saved countless lives.

01:06Eleanor, who came to the aid and assistance of so many kids, as I understand it, that's

01:12a preliminary briefing, but I'm led to believe that she acted heroically and moved a number

01:19of young children out of the way of the vehicle.

01:23So brave.

01:24Just so brave.

01:25There's been a steady stream of people laying floral tributes here, and we've heard from

01:31local resident Clinton Zammert, whose own children went to the Montessori Preschool.

01:37He says that this tragedy has really hit home, and that there is a family out there who is

01:44waking up without their mother.

01:47We're a close-knit community, we're small, but big hearts, and it's going to affect the

01:56whole community for a while.

01:58Young children are among those who've stopped to pause and remember Eleanor Bryant.

02:04There's one card that simply says, Nor Nor, which is obviously a nickname version of Eleanor

02:11that the children used to call her.

02:13The 68-year-old driver is in a stable condition in hospital.

02:18His employer, Mackenzie Water, a small family-run business, has issued a statement saying it's

02:24believed that he suffered a medical episode, and in fact, police investigators say that

02:29there is signs that the water tanker might have clipped a bridge some 100 metres down

02:35the road and also flattened nearby signs before it careered out of control into this playground.

02:42They say that they are taking blood samples as a matter of course to check for drugs and

02:47alcohol, but they will also check for any medical condition.

02:51And in the meantime, counselling is being offered to residents and families affected

02:57by this tragedy.

02:59For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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