Father's lorry kills daughter hiding in pile of leaves

A 10-year-old girl was killed when her father parked his lorry in a pile of leaves in which she and a friend were hiding, the family said today.

The other girl was seriously injured.

Family members said 36-year-old construction worker James Gravel did not know he had run over the girls until he got out and heard daughter Natalie calling him.

“She said, ‘Daddy, I can’t breathe’,” said Gravel’s sister, Jennifer Gravel.

Natalie died in hospital of head and chest injuries after the tragedy in Methuen, Massachusetts, USA.

Eight-year-old Meredith Reid was in critical condition.

Gravel’s two other children, aged 11 and seven, were in the lorry when the accident happened.

Police said no charges were planned.