Shattered mother of ‘beautiful’ three-year-old boy found dead in a daycare centre minibus has received THOUSANDS of dollars from kindhearted strangers in just 48 hours
- A three-year-old boy was found dead in a childcare centre bus in Queensland
- The family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to pay for funeral costs
- More than $11,000 has been donated by the community in less than 48 hours
Kindhearted strangers have opened their wallets to support a grieving mother whose son died after allegedly being left in a hot minibus for six hours.
The body of a three-year-old boy was allegedly found still strapped into the bus at Edmonton near Cairns on Tuesday after his mum raised the alarm he hadn’t been collected from daycare.
As the community struggles to cope with the tragic loss they have started donating cash to support the devastated family.
A GoFundMe page set up to support the family has raised more than $11,000 in 48 hours.
The body of a three-year-old boy was found still strapped into the minibus at Edmonton near Cairns on Tuesday (pictured- the minibus is towed away from the Goodstart Early learning centre)
The page was set up to help the family pay for funeral and memorial costs.
‘Last week our family experienced a tragic loss. Muriel and her immediate family are mourning the loss of their beautiful boy and our entire community is grieving,’ the post reads.
‘The kind words, prayers and financial support our community has shown has been overwhelming, we can’t thank you enough. God Bless you all.’
GoFundMe spokeswoman Grace Wearne told the Courier Mail the fundraiser is directly linked to the family.
The shattered family (pictured) of the young boy who died after being left in a daycare bus last Tuesday say they are ‘distressed’ by the shocking incident. They attended Cairns Magistrates Court this week in their bid to find ‘answers’
The child was found at about 3.1.5pm on Tuesday where it’s alleged he spent all day in the bus as temperatures soared to 34C.
Bus driver and Goodstart Early Learning Centre manager Michael Glenn Lewis, 45, and Goodstart employee Dionne Batrice Grills, 34, are facing manslaughter charges over the boy’s death.
During a court hearing on Tuesday Police prosecutor Senior Sergeant Maynard Marcum told harrowing details of how the boy had allegedly been put in a child restraint just two seats away from the driver and front door.
Yet when the minibus being driven by Lewis arrived at the daycare centre, he and his colleague Grills allegedly left the vehicle – but did not take the boy with them.
Bus driver and Goodstart Early Learning Centre manager Michael Glenn Lewis, 45, (pictured, right) and Goodstart employee Dionne Batrice Grills, 34, (pictured, left) are facing manslaughter charges over the boy’s death
He allegedly spent the next six hours sweltering inside the bus as the mercury rose to 36C.
At 2.45pm, Lewis returned to the bus to begin the afternoon drop off run, but the court heard it wasn’t until 3pm that he discovered the lifeless boy.
He then called Triple-0 and said: ‘I’ve left a child on the bus… my life is over’.
A fundraiser was set up 24 hours ago to help the family pay for funeral and memorial costs
A Gofundme page set up to support the family has raised more than $11,000 in 48 hours