A kindergarten teacher who died protecting children from an out-of-control water tanker in Melbourne’s northwest is being praised for her selfless act of bravery.
Mother-of-two Eleanor Bryant was killed after heroically pushing children out of the way of the tanker which came crashing through the Riddells Creek preschool on Monday afternoon.
“It’s believed a water tanker truck was travelling along Main Road around 2.20pm when the vehicle hit a power pole, veered off the road and crashed into a community centre,” Victoria Police said in a statement.
A three-year-old boy was also taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, however no other children were harmed in the incident.
Detective Senior Sergeant Christian Von Tuk described the crash as a “tragic incident” that “could have been a lot worse”.
“This is one of those close calls that I don’t know how only one person has died today,” Sergeant Von Tuk said.
“It’s unbelievable. At this stage it does not appear to be any type of deliberate act.”
The driver of the truck, a 68-year-old Broadford man, was taken to hospital for observation.
It’s been reported he may have suffered a medical episode, however the exact circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated by Major Collision Investigation Unit detectives.
