Boy, 7, hit by car

The boy was flown to Starship Hospital.

A 7-year-old Tauranga boy was flown to Starship Hospital in a serious condition last night after being hit by a car in Welcome Bay.

The car hit the child on Meander Drive about 6pm, Senior Sergeant Shannon Clifford said.

A witness told the Bay of Plenty Times she heard the boy crying for his mum as he lay on the road while paramedics assessed him.

"I just got off the bus and came around the corner," she said. "I walked over there and the little boy was still lying on the ground.

"When I got here there was just an ambulance but about five minutes later all the police came.

"I just hope he's going to be alright."

A Tauranga Hospital spokeswoman said the 7-year-old boy had been flown to Auckland's Starship Hospital in a serious condition.

The residential road was closed to traffic while the serious crash unit investigated.

The woman, who lived in a neighbouring house, believed the child's family lived near where the crash happened on Meander Drive.

She said speeding cars were a problem on the street and a fear for families.

"I've got kids and there's always cars screaming up and down this road even though we've got the judder bars there. We're family people, there's kids everywhere."

A neighbour across the street agreed speeding in the area was becoming a problem.

"I'm not surprised it's happened."