The 1-year-old daughter of a former contestant on the hit show “The Voice” has died following a freak accident involving a runaway Range Rover.
Paul Black, 49, announced the death of his 1-year-old daughter Pearl over Twitter, according to The Sun.
“My life is on hold indefinitely. Thank you for all the kind thoughts and messages,” he wrote.
“I’m a broken man. Our beautiful family has been savaged.”
Black was making his way back from the park with his daughter and his son in South Wales Aug. 6 when an unoccupied Range Rover rolled down a hill. Black reportedly attempted to block the car with his body, but his daughter was still crushed by the vehicle and succumbed to her injuries a few hours later at a local hospital.
Black himself suffered serious injuries; his son escaped without any major harm.
Police believe that the Range Rover’s handbrake failed, causing it to roll down the steep hill. It’s unclear who owned the vehicle.
Black was a contestant on BBC’s “The Voice” in 2014. He failed to impress the judges during his blind audition, a jazzy rendition of Van Halen’s “Jump.” According to the BBC, many viewers thought that the judges discriminated against him because they could tell he was older.
“Once again, they could tell he’s an older person so, despite his great voice, they didn’t turn,” one person wrote in criticism. “I thought this was The Voice? Not ‘Let’s create a young pop star’!”
Despite failing to make the next round, Black made the best of his time on stage and had some fun with the judges. He convinced judge Will.i.am that he was from the same town as Frank Sinatra and joked that he was the son of judge Tom Jones, according to The Sun.
Family and friends are mourning the loss of the young girl, who would have turned 2 next month.
“Pearl was every single star in every single sky, she was as bright as the stars, when she looked at you with those eyes and she would melt your heart,” her parents wrote in a statement. “She was the reddest pearl in the ocean and the sweetest melody ever written. She was the greatest dancer and she has left a massive hole in our hearts, the world will be a darker place without her. She was the reason we all lived.”
Local resident and mother Rebecca Morgan said that she saw Black standing near the site of the accident in mourning. She adds that the entire town has been eerily silent following Pearl’s death.
The Black family is currently being comforted by close relatives and specially trained police officers.