Christchurch child hit by car scootering to school: Neighbour uses jack to free trapped child

A child has been seriously injured after being hit by a car in Christchurch this morning. Photo / Jazlyn Whales

A man used a car-jack to free a boy trapped under a car after the child was hit while scootering to school.

Mohammed Khan acted quickly when he heard a woman screaming near his house on Ferry Rd in Woolston, Christchurch, about 8.40am today.

“I just ran down and there had been an accident,” he said.

“When I got closer, I could see a child trapped under the vehicle. People were asking me to help.”

With the child pinned beneath the car and bystanders calling out, Khan ran to his vehicle to retrieve a jack to lift the car.

“I lifted the car so the child could breathe properly,” he said.

“When the vehicle was raised, the child crawled out and ran straight to their mother and hugged her.”

Khan said the child was riding a scooter when they were hit.

The child is a student at nearby Te Waka Unua School.

Principal Janeane Reid said they are “very saddened” by the incident.

“We have support available for those students who witnessed the incident and the Ministry of Education has been prompt to offer further support as needed,” Reid said.

“We are very grateful for all those community members who witnessed the incident and offered help, especially those who supported and guided our other students arriving at school, past and safely into school this morning.

“How our community steps up and wraps around each other during these times shows the real strength of our village.

“Our little boy is now in the hands of the professionals up at the hospital and we will support the whānau during his recovery.”

A pedestrian has been seriously injured after being hit by a car in Christchurch this morning. Photo / Jazlyn Whales

Emergency services said they were notified of the crash about 8.40am.

A Hato Hone St John spokesperson said one person was taken to Christchurch Hospital in a serious condition.

A nearby neighbour said she heard yelling and was shocked by the incident.

She said children frequently walk to school along the busy road and that, in the three years she has lived in the area, accidents have become more common.

She added that, as a parent herself, it worried her.