After riding in to a road sign Sonny Kanuta has been scarred for life, says his mother.
The 5-year-old Aorangi Primary School pupil was riding a friend's bike to the children's park on Gem St, when he swerved to miss a bottle or can and smashed into the edge of a road reflector sign opposite the end of Susan St.
Sonny was left with a deep cut from above his left eye, down his cheek and through both lips to his lower chin. He required surgery which left him nursing dozens of dissolvable internal stitches and 18 external stitches on his face.
His mother Sonya Kanuta is calling on the Rotorua District Council to either remove the sign, re-position it or put rubber around the edges so no other children could be injured.
The edge of the sign could easily have sliced her son's head open or taken out an eye, Ms Kanuta said.
"The council needs to do something about it for the safety of everyone. A child could trip or accidentally walk into it. It's right on the path and is low enough to do some serious damage," she said.
"My boy is scarred for life ... He could have been a model but look at his face now. That sign needs to be raised or some rubber put around it or something."
The sign is at the entrance to the children's playground, which runs from Gem St through to Homedale St.
Sonny had gone to the park about 7.30pm on Sunday when he swerved and crashed into the sharp edge of the sign, Ms Kanuta said.
A woman who lived next to the park went to Sonny's aid but he ran home, about 100m away on Jade Pl, she said.
"I could hear him screaming ... He was covered in blood when he ran inside with about 100 kids behind him," she said.
Her son wasn't wearing a helmet at the time but doctors at Rotorua Hospital said it wouldn't have made any difference, Ms Kanuta said.
"They said the injuries would have been the same."
Rotorua District Council works manager Peter Dine said it was very unfortunate a child had been injured by the sign.
Someone would be checking it out and reporting back to him in the next few days, he said.
Signs were erected to specifications set at a national level, he said. "We will go and see if anything can be done."
When asked if it were feasible to put rubber on signs close to the ground or at a child's height, Mr Dine said it probably wouldn't be as there were many similar signs around the city.
"There are an awful lot of them," he said.
"There could be thousands of different signs that could be potential hazards out there ... It's just very unfortunate someone has had an accident."
Boy 'scarred for life' after smashing into sign
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