'Cheeky, precious' boy, 7, crushed to death between two electric cars after driver hit wrong button

The family of a young boy, who was tragically killed, have paid tribute to their "cheeky, precious" son. Alfie Tollett, aged 7, lost his life in 2023 when he was caught between two vehicles due to a driver's error .

Alfie was attending one of his brother's rugby matches at Plymstock Albion Oaks RFC on February 19, 2023. He found himself trapped between two cars while putting on his rugby boots.

The driver, inside a Jaguar Land Rover I-PACE, had "relied on feel" to find the reverse button but instead accelerated forward for about 10 seconds, resulting in Alfie accidentally getting crushed to death.

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Despite Alfie's father Stephen's quick attempt to move the family car to free his son, Alfie sadly died shortly after. Stephen and his wife Gemma have shared a heartfelt tribute to their son, following news that Plymouth Coroner Deborah Archer issued a Prevention of Future Deaths report highlighting both a potential issue with the I-PACE design and the driver's "number of errors".

Stephen and Gemma Tollett, Alfie's parents, said: "There is so much we could say about Alfie, but we just want everyone to know he was our amazing, cheeky, precious little boy who we all miss and love so very much. Alfie's memory will always be kept going through his two brothers and sister.", reports Plymouth Live .

"Keep chasing the Pokemon's, riding the unicorns, and scoring the goals up there our special Alfie Moo. We'd like to thank everyone who has sent kind messages of support for our family since that terrible day. Alfie will be forever in our hearts."

At the end of an inquest into Alfie's tragic death, Ms Archer issued her report, urging Jaguar to take measures to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. She addressed the company saying: "In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you have the power to take such action."

The Jaguar I-Pace, unlike traditional cars, doesn't have a regular gear stick but uses an automatic system with three buttons: drive, neutral, and reverse. On February 19, during the incident, the driver - a 55 year old man - "used his left hand to select the reverse button" intending to realign the vehicle, which belonged to his wife.

According to the police investigation, he failed to ensure he was in reverse before pressing the accelerator. He also didn't press the vehicle's brake once, even as his car moved forward for 10 seconds and collided with the van parked ahead.

The Coroner also urged the car company to reconsider the design of its $70,000 SUVs.

The Tollett family expressed their gratitude, stating: "We thank the Coroner for her findings and the confirmation that she will write to Jaguar Land Rover about whether additional steps can be taken to make this electric car safer."

"We would welcome anything that prevents any other family from having to go through what we have as a family and that includes all manufacturers of electric vehicles to review their control designs in light of this case. We have lost our beautiful son Alfie because of what we see as a design flaw and we are passionate for this to never happen again."