Diane Miller: Pregnant woman dies after being hit on head by concrete in parking lot fight
PERTH, AUSTRALIA: A pregnant woman and her unborn baby died at a Perth hospital days after being hit in the head by a concrete block while sitting in a parked car during an altercation between a group of people.
Diane Miller, 30, was injured on Tuesday, November 29, after a fight broke out in the Waterford Plaza shopping center in Karawara on Manning Road. Miller was struck in the head with a block of concrete, allegedly thrown by a 17-year-old boy. She was sitting in her car when she was reportedly attacked. Miller slipped into cardiac arrest and was rushed to the intensive care unit at Royal Perth Hospital. She later died along with her unborn child in the early hours of Thursday, December 1, as per ABC News.
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Miller’s brother, Malcolm Clifton, confirmed the devastating news on Thursday evening after the family said their final goodbyes. "Everyone’s destroyed," Clifton told NITV from the hospital. "We just lost our world... the baby passed away too." Miller was 5 months pregnant and also has a young son named Lloyd.
Miller's heartbroken family told 7news that they were "destroyed" upon visiting her in the hospital. "He’s going to grow up without his mum now," Clifton said. "We are destroyed and we want justice. You wouldn’t wish this on anyone." Clifton described his sister as a beloved community member whose loss would be felt severely by her loved ones. "Dianne, you'll never get another one like her," he told NITV. "One of a kind; kind to everybody; good-hearted; good morals; well-respected," he added.
Miller's family told ABC on Wednesday that they had been told she was unlikely to survive due to her brain being "swollen too much." The swelling in her brain could not be contained. A vigil was held at 8 pm outside the hospital, with relatives and those known to the victim present.
According to the police, Miller's partner, who was driving the car, and a group of teenagers got into a fight. "From what we can gather, the woman was a passenger in a car that was stopped in the car park," Inspector Brett Baddock of the Cannington District Office said. "Her partner then became involved in the scuffle. The parties were not known to each other. This is, quite simply, senseless violence by a bunch of teenagers. From what we can gather, it’s unprovoked. I think they’ve gone out looking for trouble and they’ve found it." The 17-year-old Kensington boy was later charged with grievous bodily harm and breach of bail.
