A beloved teacher’s aide at a kindergarten about 60 kilometres north-west of Melbourne was killed yesterday while attempting an “act of bravery” when a truck ploughed into a pre-school on Monday afternoon.
Speech pathologist Eleanor Bryant, 43, was working at Macedon Ranges Montessori Pre-school in Riddells Creek when the truck crashed through the playground about 2.20pm.
Bryant, known as EJ to her friends, reportedly died while saving pre-school children from the path of the water tanker. She is survived by her two children and her husband Tim.
“There are people in this world who you can’t quite believe are so kind, so generous, so wonderful and caring. Eleanor Bryant, or EJ as she was to us, was one of those people. Eleanor was a light that lit up every room, never had a bad word to say about anyone,” said Today presenter Alex Cullen in an on-air tribute honouring his friend.
“It does not surprise me one bit that Eleanor pushed those school kids out of the way yesterday to ultimately save their lives. She always put others first and [was] a great example to all of us.
“We will miss you Eleanor and thank you for everything you gave us.”
Heroic act helped prevent worse outcome
A three-year-old child was hurt but a shocked detective said it was “unbelievable” Bryant was the only person to die. Her local MP hailed her as a “hero”.
The three-year-old boy was taken to Royal Children’s Hospital with an upper-body injury, with Ambulance Victoria confirming he was in a stable condition.
The incident comes two weeks after 11-year-old Jack Davey was killed when an SUV crashed through a primary school fence in Hawthorn East in Melbourne.
Major Collision Investigation Unit detective Christian Von Tunk says the truck crash happened during play time and that it could have been considerably worse.
“The 68-year-old truck driver is believed to have lost control of the water tanker after a suspected medical episode, hitting a bridge and a car before crashing through the preschool,” Von Tunk said at the scene on Monday evening.
“And we can see some tyre marks, which then veer across the road and into the school.
“We’ve lost a 43-year-old teacher’s aide, and we’ve had a child with a very near miss, and a group of children who are in very close proximity, plus some teachers who were fairly close as well.
“I dare say, there’ll be some kids getting squeezed very tightly tonight.”
