Woman, 86, who ran over school girl dies of ‘broken heart’

The elderly woman who was behind the wheel of the car that fatally struck a young girl in a Sunshine Coast car park told her husband she “didn’t want to live anymore” before dying in hospital this week. 

Miriam Grace Paton was facing a count of charges relating to the death of six-year-old Indie Armstrong who she accidentally reversed into and killed on June 17. 

Her husband Stuart told The Courier Mail she was wracked with guilt until her last moments. 

The 86-year-old was driving a silver hatchback at the Nambour shopping centre when she struck the young girl who was standing at a pedestrian crossing with her sister, their mother Emily and grandmother Sandy Bampton. 

Emily was not injured in the accident, but her other daughter suffered a lower limb injury and was transported to the Sunshine Coast Hospital in a stable condition.

Since then Paton had been struggling with a string of health conditions, including pneumonia, which caused her to miss a number of court dates over the past few months.

As well as battling with the severe infection of the lungs, her husband Stuart, 90, told The Courier Mail his wife could not live with the heartache endured following the terrible accident.

“I’ve killed a child and I don’t want to live anymore,” were her final words to Stuart before she passed away, the publication reported.  “She was heartbroken, she could not bear the thought of having caused the little girl’s death. She wanted to die.”

Although Paton didn’t have any children of her own, the 86-year-old had dedicated much of her life to kids through her work as a teacher, which according to her family and solicitor made the situation all that more difficult. 

According to her solicitor Peter Boyce, Paton had decided there was no point in going on and that she had decided to stop her treatment for her health conditions.

“The pain and anguish seen on her face when we talked briefly about this matter is something I’ll never forget,” he told the ABC.

“It’s a tragic outcome, not only for Miriam and for her family, but for Indie’s family who are still suffering and grieving.”

The Sunshine Coast region rallied together following the death of little Indie, with families and friends attending a candlelight vigil for the six-year-old. Flowers, teddy bears and handwritten messages were also left at the site in remembrance of the little girl.

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