Hanover Park residents are up in arms after a one-year-old girl was taken to
hospital after she fell through a hole in a staircase allegedly caused by a City of Cape Town contractor.
The mother of little Erin Hoorn was left in shock after the child plunged and cracked her skull on
Monday morning.
Mom Marghy, 34, explains: “I was visiting my friends in Moray Court and Erin was standing next to me.
“I just turned my back for a second and she fell through the hole. I tried to catch her but I was too late.
“When I got over my shock, I ran down to her and she wasn’t moving.”
SHOCK: Erin Hoorn, 1, was hospitalised after losing conscious from her fall in Hanover Park. Picture supplied
Witness Tasneem Whittles, 30, says the wall was not secured with danger tape or boards and she ran to help Marghy.
“I picked her up and we ran to the day hospital with the baby and told them we have an emergency.
“It was such a loud bang, it sounded like a hammer hitting a wall, but that child was unconscious.
“People are blaming the mother but we all know children of that age are gruwelik and you just look away and then they do something.”
MAJOR: Rental units are undergoing R1 million upgrades
Marghy and Erin were rushed to Red Cross Hospital, where doctors confirmed she had a cracked skull.
“They said they cannot operate because she is too young and it will grow closed. She is in a lot of pain but they said she is fine for now. I am just glad she is alive,” she says.
When Daily Voice visited the court on Wednesday, resident Rudea Smit accused the
mother of negligence.
“ Sy was gesuip toe val die kind. Daar was ’n gat, but as a mother she should have watched the child,” she said.
Another resident, Shuama Domingo, says the contractors knew they were in trouble and arrived within hours of the fall to brick up the hole.
SWIFT: Hole was ‘quickly fixed’
“The contractors and the City are to blame for this because they should not have left the place unsecured.
“I don’t care if the mother was drinking, the point is that child could have died.
“Why did they rush to come back and fix the hole? If it was OK for them to leave it like that before the child fell, then it mos should still be OK.
“They came to cover
themselves.”
DANGEROUS: Moray Court
City spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo says the work is part of a major upgrade being carried out at rental units, worth more than R1 million.
“The matter has been reported to the City as well as the Department of Labour.
“The repairs to the wall have been completed and will now be inspected by the project structural engineer. The investigation is ongoing.”
Marghy denies being gesuip, saying: “I was planning to drink but didn’t start yet. The contractors came to the hospital to say sorry, now why are they saying sorry if they did nothing wrong?
“I am just glad my child is alive and we will only know how this will affect her when we go back to the hospital.”