A three-year-old boy who died after a car crash that police are treating as a potential domestic violence incident had been excited to dress up for Halloween in his final days.
Caden Case was inside a white Mazda 323 with his 24-year-old father, 22-year-old mother and one-year-old brother when it veered off Burnside Road at Yatala, in south-east Queensland, and crashed at about 5am on Saturday.
The father left the scene with the one-year-old, while a bystander helped the mother and Caden out of the vehicle and took them to Beenleigh Police Station.
Caden was unresponsive on arrival at the police station and officers urgently performed CPR, however he died in the foyer.
Police said they are investigating whether the car was deliberately crashed.
His grief-stricken grandmother made the heartbreaking revelation that her grandson had been excited for Halloween and could not wait to dress up with his brother.
‘He was looking forward to Halloween. He was going as a vampire, he was so excited,’ she told the Courier Mail.
‘He was a firecracker who loved life. I just can’t believe it. I hope no family ever has to go through this.’
Three-year-old Caden (pictued) was excited to dress up for Halloween in the days before his death
The three-year-old died in the foyer of a police station after the car he was travelling in with his mother, father and one-year-old brother veered off the road and crashed into bushland
On Sunday evening, multiple sources connected to Caden’s devastated mother, Aneshia-Lea Case, confirmed the tragic loss to Daily Mail.
Caden’s great-grandmother Susan Case Thiele paid an emotional tribute to her great-grandson on Facebook.
‘Our family has lost a beautiful little boy who was a firecracker,’ she said.
Mrs Case’s husband Nigel, Caden’s great-grandfather, told Daily Mail on Sunday night that the family’s pain was still ‘very raw’.
‘We are leaving it all up to the police. We do not want to jeopardise the case,’ he said.
Detectives are investigating the possibility the crash was deliberate and whether Caden’s parents – who had been separated for a year – had been arguing before the crash.
The father and one-year-old son were found at a Beenleigh address about 90 minutes after the incident.
The father was taken into custody. He was charged with related offences, including breach of bail, and is set to face court on Monday.
A bystander (pictured speaking with police) who was travelling behind the Mazda, witnessed the crash and helped the mother and Caden out of the vehicle before taking them to the Police Station
The one-year-old was taken to hospital for observation but is believed not to have been injured. His parents were medically discharged before his father was taken into custody.
Detective Acting Superintendent Mark Mooney said police were looking into any possible domestic violence links.
He added police were still investigating the circumstances of the crash and that further charges could be laid.
‘That’s not off the table, that’s definitely what we are investigating. We’re just trying to determine the exact circumstances to what led the vehicle veering off the road,’ Supt Mooney said.
‘My understanding is the toddler was unresponsive upon arrival (at the police station).
‘He was in a bad medical way prior to arrival at the police station and as soon as he arrived, police immediately commenced CPR.
‘The mother had called Triple 0 prior to her arrival. The three-year-old has sustained a head injury which has caused his death, I understand.’
Supt Mooney said the mother and the two children had been living on the Gold Coast, while the father was living at Beenleigh.
Police are investigating whether the incident was domestic violence related and the car deliberately crashed
He said the mother had driven to a property on Coral Street in Beenleigh where an associate of the father lived.
The white Mazda then left the property at about 4.50am before it crashed ten minutes later.
The bystander who witnessed the crash had been driving behind the Mazda and drove the mother and her three-year-old boy to the police station at her request.
Asked why the child was taken to the police station, Supt Mooney said it was at the mother’s request and ‘probably because it’s the closest available facility’.
Police established four crime scenes including at the crash site and the home where the father and one-year-old boy were found.
A GoFundMe started by Ms Case’s cousin Brittney Moffitt to help pay for Caden’s funeral expenses had raised more than $2,300 by Sunday night.
A picture shared within the fundraiser showed blonde-haired Caden grinning cheekily while wearing a red T-shirt.
‘My cousin has tragically lost her three-year-old son in a car accident… a mother’s worst nightmare,’ Ms Moffitt wrote.
The father left the scene with the one-year-old, with the pair found at a property about 90minutes after the crash
‘As all our hearts are breaking I want to take a little pressure of her by asking for everyone’s help to raise some money for his funeral, no mother should have to bury (her) baby, let alone have the stress of worrying about paying for it.
‘She’s only 22 and has just lost her baby who made her a mum, and her heart is breaking.
‘If you could please find it in your heart to help we would all be so appreciative. May our little angel boy rest in peace.’
