An investigation is underway into exposing the minor Karolina W. to a direct danger of loss of life or serious bodily harm by maintaining in an improper technical condition a clothes-beating frame located at 4 Powstańców Śląskich Street in Jelenia Góra.

The incident occurred on August 18, when 3.5-year-old Karolina W., who was under the care of her 15-year-old sister, was playing near her home beside a metal clothes-beating frame with other children. At one point, the frame tilted and then fell. The injured Karolina W. did not have time to move away, and the frame crushed her, striking her head.

The girl was carried into the house by her sister. Her parents called an ambulance. The ambulance did not arrive, so they drove their daughter themselves to the Wojewódzkie Centrum Szpitalne Kotliny Jeleniogórskiej, from where Karolina was taken directly, together with her father, to the University Hospital in Wrocław. There, the girl was found to have injuries including swelling of the right eye socket, discharge of blood and cerebrospinal fluid from the ears, diffuse intracranial brain injury, and a fracture of the base of the skull. Despite medical care, the girl died on August 21.

As part of the investigation to date, investigators have, among other things, inspected the scene, during which the clothes-beating frame was secured, and questioned the mother of the minor injured party as a witness. The manager of the property where the incident occurred was also identified. (It is the Zakład Gospodarki Komunalnej i Mieszkaniowej in Jelenia Góra.)

Activities are also being carried out to gather all relevant documentation and information concerning the clothes-beating frame that crushed the injured girl, as well as supervision of its technical condition. The ambulance service has also been asked to provide the complete documentation and data from the recorder related to the call for an ambulance for Karolina W.

An expert in forensic medicine was appointed in the investigation to conduct an autopsy of Karolina W. and issue a written medico-legal opinion concerning the injuries sustained by the minor injured party, the mechanism by which they occurred, and the cause of the child’s death.

The secured clothes-beating frame will also be examined by an expert in forensic engineering.