Police urgently want to speak to people who saw the car plunge down

Maximillian Holden Young, two, was killed on Saturday when a BMW plunged 12ft (4m) from a car park above Yaverland Beach on the Isle of Wight.

A specialist road death investigation team is examining the BMW, a silver F-reg saloon, for mechanical defects.

The toddler's parents are expected to release a statement in the next day.

Police and firefighters have handed out 400 leaflets in the area around the beach appealing for people who saw what happened to come forward.

Some 20 eyewitnesses have come forward so far.

Maximillian and his parents were visiting the Isle of Wight from their home in Fulham, west London.

It is the second such death on the Isle of Wight in less than a year

His 42-year-old father was also trapped under the car and was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries, including a broken pelvis and severe burns.

He has been transferred to a hospital in London, where his condition is described as stable after undergoing an operation on Tuesday.

The toddler's mother saw the accident but was not hurt.

A post-mortem examination on her son found he suffered a fractured skull, a broken spine and massive internal injuries.

Sgt Andy Timms, leading the Hampshire Police investigation, told BBC News Online: "The media has been a great help in getting people to come forward and I am currently going through details of about 20 witnesses.

"Many of those people saw the aftermath of the accident and what we really need now are witnesses who saw the car being driven in to the car park and going over the edge."

The driver, a 44-year-old local man, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and later freed on police bail after giving a negative breath test.

The accident is the second such fatal incident in less than a year on the Isle of Wight.

On 16 August 2003, Harvey Flower, a 58-year-old academic from Beckenham, Kent, died when a car fell on to him as he was reading on the beach at Shanklin.

The council has said it is to review car park safety after the latest tragedy.