A car had unexpectedly begun to reverse when it struck and killed a three-year-old girl in a childcare centre car park in Melbourne's north, police say.
Tributes in the form of flowers and stuffed toys were placed outside the Kiddy Palace childcare centre in Epping this morning after the girl was killed in what police described as a terrible accident yesterday afternoon.
In a statement, police said it was believed a 26-year-old woman was helping another child in the back seat of the car when the vehicle moved backwards.
The woman and the three-year-old girl, both from Broadmeadows, were hit by the car.
The girl died at the scene and the woman was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Three other children who were already inside the car were not physically injured.
Police said they were still investigating what caused the vehicle to reverse.
The centre remained closed this morning as people came to lay messages of support for the girl's family.
A small teddy bear left at the door to the centre held a card with a message of support.
"Spread your angel wings lil' one & watch over your sibling to be & family," the card read.
Yesterday, Detective Sergeant Daryll Out urged drivers to exercise caution around children in the wake of the accident.
"Terrible accidents such as these can occur if everyone's not paying full attention to what they're doing," he said.
The police investigation is ongoing.
