Swallow Drive, where the 8-year-old boy was hit on his way to school. Photo / Richard Robinson
Swallow Drive, where the 8-year-old boy was hit on his way to school. Photo / Richard Robinson
An 8-year-old boy is "very, very lucky" to have escaped with minor injuries after being hit by a van in South Auckland, his mother says.
Ari Greer, a Year 4 student at St Anne's Catholic School in Manurewa, was crossing Swallow Drive with his sister, Millie, 7, when avan hit him and did not stop.
Millie, who was not hurt, ran home to tell mother Ros Ari was hurt and his head was bleeding.
Until a couple of weeks ago, Mrs Greer said, she had been walking her children to school.
"I ran to the scene as fast as a mother could," she said. "They had just started walking to school on their own. Ari was bleeding on the ground and I just didn't know what to think."
Ari was taken to Middlemore Hospital where a scan revealed he had no internal injuries, and he was discharged last night, Mrs Greer said.
"Ari's all right, thank God. He is a very, very lucky boy."
Police said the man driving the van fled the scene, but later went to the police and had been interviewed.
A decision on charges would be made once the serious crash unit had investigated the incident.
St Anne's principal Philip Cortesi said: "The roads around here are just a nightmare just before and after school, and it can be a real hazard for kids."
