Why memorial for girl, 6, killed in car park has been removed

Sunshine Coast community members mourning the death of a six-year-old girl in a Coles car park were left scratching their heads after her memorial disappeared.

Indie Armstrong was waiting at a pedestrian crossing inside Nambour Mill shopping centre car park on June 17 with her older sister Lily, 8, and grandmother Sandy, 57, when an 86-year-old woman allegedly lost control of her car and hit them at speed, while in reverse.

The North Arm primary school student, described as a “enthusiastic, loving, friendly young girl” did not survive.

Her mother, Emily Armstrong, watched the catastrophic scene unfold but escaped injury, while Lily suffered a lower limb injury and was transported to the Sunshine Coast Hospital in a stable condition.

Indie’s devastated schoolfriends were amongst a host of mourners to pay their respects at the scene of the tragedy, leaving behind flowers, teddy bears and handwritten messages.

“I will never forget you, I love you,” a little girl named Aylah wrote on the message board.

So when those messages disappeared, social media speculation suggested Coles staff may have taken it down for safety reasons. That was before a member of The Shake Community Centre set the record straight.

“We were contacted by them and they asked if it was all right if they could have it for the family,” The Shack volunteer told The Sunshine Coast Daily.

“So we took it down and delivered it to them.

“When we handed it all over, they were very grateful, still numb and trying to process everything, but you could tell they were so appreciative of what the community had done.”

A GoFundMe page set up to help her family with funeral costs and living expenses has smashed it’s initial $20,000 goal, raising more than $74,000 by Monday morning.

A Queensland Police spokesperson said investigations into the accident are continuing.