Heartless hit-run driver left injured toddler and grandmother in the middle of the road
CCTV shows the driver, on the left of the footage, get out of the car and approach the injured victims. But she then fled the scene.
Shocking footage has captured the moment a toddler and her grandma were knocked down by a cowardly driver who later left them in the middle of a road despite suggesting she would call a doctor.
The girl, aged 2, and the 63-year-old woman had been at a park in Melbourne’s south-east and were walking across the road at a pedestrian light to buy an ice cream when a black Toyota RAV 4 drove through the crossing.
Victoria Police is now hunting for the driver who has not come forward during the month-long investigation into the hit-run.
CCTV of the incident shows the car knocking the pair to the ground at an intersection at Glen Huntly, the impact leaving the grandmother with broken legs and a broken hand.
The toddler’s mother, who wanted to be known only as Laura, said it was lucky the little girl was walking to the side of her grandmother and was shielded from taking the full force of the hit.
“Just in a split second, something like that can change (a life),” Laura said.
“There was a person walking with a small child in front of them, and that child was on the opposite side (closest to the oncoming traffic).
“If that car had have come through a couple of seconds earlier that could have been a very different situation.”
In a strange turn of events, the female motorist stopped and got out of the car as if to help the pair – but drove off a moment later.
Senior Constable Murray Stranger said the woman parked her car and then walked up to where the victims lay before asking them if they needed a doctor.
“She then got back in the car and left without rendering any further assistance,” Sen-Constable Stranger said.
The child was left bruised and traumatised over the February 20 crash, while the woman remains in hospital where she is having physiotherapy to be able to walk again.
Police have been hunting for the driver of the SUV, who was a caucasian middle-aged woman, and are “confident” they will find out her identity.
The woman, described as being aged in her 40s or 50s and speaking with an Australian accent, was last seen driving on Glen Huntly Rd.
On Tuesday, Laura joined police to appeal for help from witnesses or anyone who knows the whereabouts of the driver.
“Everyone makes mistakes. I think it’s a testament to someone’s character if they own up to it,” the mother said.
“I would just request that they do that … do the right thing.”
The release of the video evidence comes just days after a triathlete was knocked down and killed in an alleged hit-run, also in Melbourne’s south-east.
Chelsea woman Michelle Ruitenbeck, 50, died in hospital after allegedly being struck by a 28-year-old man in a ute as she cycled on the Nepean Hwy last Thursday.
Meanwhile, police in Western Australia are investigating after a cyclist delivering UberEats was dragged under a four-wheel-drive at Carlisle on Sunday night by a Landcruiser whose driver fled the scene.
The woman is recovering in a trauma unit, while police look for the motorist.
HIT RUN
A cyclist has been left for dead in a hit and run at Carlisle.
Witnesses say she was hit twice and dragged along the road for more than 100 metres.https://t.co/53nxQZmyuL #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/lbHFLe39KK— 7NEWS Perth (@7NewsPerth) April 1, 2019
Anyone with information on the crimes is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.