Devonport jumping castle tragedy: Jye Sheehan’s father is in coma and has no idea his boy has died
The father of a boy killed in a Tasmanian jumping castle has come out of a coma and is watching the service from his hospital bed – after suffering a tragic incident in the weeks before the jumping castle tragedy.
Jye Sheehan, 12, died along with five of his classmates after falling 10 metres from a jumping castle blown into the air by a freak gust of wind during end-of-year celebrations at Devonport’s Hillcrest Primary School last Thursday. He will be laid to rest at a memorial service on Friday.
The horrific accident days before Christmas has devastated the local community and left the nation in mourning for the six Year 6 students whose lives were tragically cut short.
For one victim’s family, the catastrophe was the second cruel blow in a matter of weeks after an accident last month left Glen Sheehan, Jye’s father, having been hospitalised in the weeks prior to the service.
Daily Mail Australia understands Mr Sheehan is in hospital and is a quadriplegic, and isn’t watching the service, but has been made aware of the awful news of his son’s death.
Jye Sheehan, 12, (pictured) was tragically killed in a jumping castle tragedy at Hillcrest Primary School last week. His father Glen has spent the past few weeks in a coma and does not know his son has died
Mr Sheehan remains in a coma at a Hobart Hospital, 280km away in the state’s south, as his shattered family hopes for a full recovery.
If he miraculously pulls through, he will wake to the heartbreaking news his little boy is dead.
A family member told Daily Mail Australia Glen’s condition and the loss of Jye are a ‘delicate situation’.
While the Sheehans grapple with the back-to-back tragedies, tributes have begun pouring in for the vibrant little boy who was due to start high school next year.
‘Rest easy little man,’ a cousin wrote on Facebook.
‘Absolutely devastated.’
Another loved one remembered Jye as a vibrant and ‘happy’ boy with a great sense of humour.
‘He was such a happy young man full of so much energy and would make all the children laugh,’ she said.
Jye, Addison Stewart, 11, Zane Mellor, 12, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, 12, Peter Dodt, 12, and Chace Harrison, 11, were celebrating their last day of primary school when the disaster unfolded on campus.
Jye’s father Glenn is in a coma fighting for life and is yet to learn of his son’s death. Emergency service crews are pictured at the scene last Thursday
Zane Mellor, 12, Peter Dodt, Addison Stewart, Chace Harrison, and Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones (pictured left to right) were also killed when a freak gust of wind blew the inflatable 10 metres into the air
This week, the graduates would have spent Christmas with their families before bounding off to begin the next chapter of their education in the new year.
Instead, scores of wrapped presents will sit untouched beneath decorated tree while grieving parents plan funerals for their children.
Two surviving victims who were fighting for life in hospital were moved out of the intensive care unit on Thursday after spending a week in a critical condition.
Both are recovering from a multitude of injuries, including blunt force trauma, multiple broken bones, and internal injuries and are now stable at Royal Hobart Hospital.
Beau Medcraft, the ninth child thrown from the airborne inflatable, is recovering home after being discharged from hospital last week.
The 12-year-old visited the school on Tuesday for the first time since the incident, with his both arms in casts and his shoulder in a sling.
A memorial has formed outside the school’s front gate as members of the community mourns the six lives lost in the disaster
He placed gaming controllers among the sea of flowers and cards in the growing memorial outside the school’s front gates as a tribute to his dead friends.
The funeral for Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones was held at local parish Church of Christ on Wednesday as loved ones said goodbye to their ‘beautiful’ girl.
A service for Zane Mellor took place at Devonport’s Mersey Gardens Chapel on Thursday, where hundreds of mourners farewelled the ‘adventurous’ boy who loved gaming.
His small blue casket was decorated with PlayStation equipment and a poster of his favourite game.
Investigations into the Hillcrest Primary School tragedy continue.
