Boy, three, was choked by car’s electric window

A THREE-YEAR-OLD boy asphyxiated after an electric car window closed tightly on his neck as he played unaccompanied in his father’s car, an inquest heard last night.

The Dublin City Coroner’s Court heard that the Romanian parents of Isac Cirpaci were distraught after his sister found him unconscious and trapped in the window of the Volkswagen Passet out the front of their home in Southbank, Swords, Co Dublin, on April 5, 2004.

The coroner, Dr Brian Farrell, pledged to write to the Department of Transport and relevant authorities to alert them to the boy’s death in a bid to preventfurther similar tragedies.

It emerged during the inquest that there was a fault with the 12-year-old car’s lighting that interfered with the electric windows’ safety mechanism.

However, in this instance Isac’s father, Christian, who was accompanied by an interpreter, told the court that the young boy had taken the key without their knowledge and placed it in the ignition to play.

Dr Farrell, who passed a verdict of accidental death, said that, whether it was through the fault in the mechanism or the key in the ignition, Isac had been capable of moving the windows. He said that he would write to the Transport Department to encourage them to highlight the potential dangers of the window system in the pre-2000 Volkswagen Passet cars to parents.

A public service vehicle inspector, who examined the car, told the court: “The overall effect of the faulty door switch was it prevented one of the safety features from operating correctly.” He added: “It subsequently provided a greater opportunity for a child to use the windows.”

The court heard that under an EU directive in 2000 newer car models were brought in with different window safety features.

“The most important is an automatic reverse if something is blocking the window when closing if it senses a blockage it stops and reverses,” he said.

The court heard that a small one-inch red mark was noted on Isac’s neck as he was rushed to Temple Street Children’s Hospital. However, despite resuscitation attempts he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival on April 5, 2004.

The pathologist stated that Isac had died from asphyxia due to pressure on the neck.