Mum killed by own car as toddler played with wheel

A mother was tragically killed Tuesday morning when she was run over by her own car while her two-year-old boy played with the steering wheel, French daily Le Parisien reported.

The apparently freak accident happened around 10am at a travelers' camping area in the Parisian suburb of Herblay as the 26-year-old mother was just finishing up the routine chore of cleaning her car. 

As the unnamed woman worked, her 2-year-old son was in the driver’s seat playing with the steering wheel of the car, which was parked on a slight incline. Police are unsure of exactly how it happened, but the car began to roll.

The young woman saw the vehicle start to move and rushed to push her older child out of the way of the rolling car, several witnesses told police. But she was not able to escape herself.

She was struck by the car and her head was crushed between her own vehicle and a nearby camper van. Rescuers rushed to the scene but the woman was already dead and her body was then taken to a local hospital for an autopsy.

A heavy law enforcement presence was dispatched to the scene by authorities who feared the death could provoke violent scenes. However the situation remained calm and the police left the camp by early afternoon.