At around 8:45 a.m. two weeks ago, pedestrians in Gloucester, England came across an injured 15-month-old on the side of the road…
They called an ambulance, and the child was quickly rushed to the hospital. Luckily, his injuries were not life-threatening—they were just “cuts and bruises.”
Law enforcement immediately notified the boy’s father, Jamie Ellison, who worked with them to find the culprit….
Ellison posted the following on Facebook shortly after the accident to enlist the help of his neighbors:
“I beg anyone who was on Hester’s Way Road between 8:30 and 8:40….doing school runs or catching a bus etc to please call the police and help find who did this to my little man x thank you x.”
After the police did a little more digging, however, they realized that it was Ellison who hit the boy while on his way out taking his other two daughters to school…
We know – we were both initially relieved to know that there wasn’t some vicious hit and run of a poor child but then…
We wondered how in the heck one can run over a child and not notice!?
The guilt ridden father realized it was indeed him when a picture revealed it to be so….
The reality of something like this happening before is likely and it has happened! In this scenario, Ellison had waved to his son who was standing inside by a window but as Ellison was busy strapping in his daughters to hit the road for school, his little boy had made it outside without supervision.
Neither his daughters nor he felt the bump of the young child – that’s cringe worthy! But it should also make you stop and think about how fast some of us jet out of the driveway and off to our destination without a moment’s thought.
Backover injuries and deaths are often a neighbor or relative driver. When a child is the victim, the driver may even be the child’s mother or father (just as in the story above.
We urge you to keep these safety tips in mind before back out of any driveway… It could save a child’s life.
Driveway Safety Tips:
- Before getting into the car, walk all the way around it, to make sure children are not under or behind the car. If children are outside, have them stand away from the car with another adult until you have left the driveway.
- Teach children not to play in, under, or around vehicles — ever.
- When possible, park your car so that you can pull forward instead of having to back out. If you need to back out, check all mirrors, and do so carefully.
- Look behind you as you back out S-L-O-W-L-Y with your windows rolled down to listen for children who may have dashed behind your vehicle suddenly — and be prepared to stop!
- Try not to use the driveway for play. It is better to find a safe spot for your child that is away from all parked or moving cars.
- Pick up any toys, bikes, chalk or other play items near the driveway that could attract children.
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