7yo drags grandmother with car

Inspector Al Stewart. Photo / Supplied

A 57-year-old grandmother was seriously injured when she was dragged 40 metres by a car her seven-year-old grandson was driving.

The woman was trying to stop the boy driving down the road when she fell onto the road and hit her head in Rangiora, north of Christchurch.

"The child has driven out of the driveway. The grandmother has grabbed hold of the passenger door, then she has run along and then been dragged about 30 to 40 metres down the road," Canterbury road policing manager Inspector Al Stewart told The Press.

Mr Stewart said the boy may have got into the car to follow his mother, who had gone out.

"All I know is the seven-year-old has managed to start the car somehow."

Brian Lunn, a neighbour, who witnessed the incident said the boy was not driving fast.

"He was probably lucky to touch the pedals. He was a probably a four footer (1.2 metres). He was reasonably tall."

The woman was in a serious but stable condition in Christchurch Hospital last night.

- NZPA