Panania: Three-year-old boy seriously injured after being hit by a car – just hours after girl, one, was killed when her father tragically reversed into her
A three-year-old child is in a serious condition in hospital after being hit by a car in Sydney.
The three-year-old boy was hit by a 56-year-old woman driving a yellow MG on Wilson Street in Panania in the Canterbury-Bankstown region at 11.30am on Saturday.
The toddler was rushed to Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick and the female driver was taken to Liverpool Bankstown police station for mandatory tests.
Just hours earlier on Friday evening, a one-year-old girl was tragically killed in a similar incident in Sydney’s west.
Rishwika Salibindla died when her father Joseph Reddy Salibindla, 41, unknowingly bumped into her at their Edna Avenue property in Toongabbie just before 5.30pm on Friday.
The three-year-old was rushed to Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick and the woman was taken to Liverpool Bankstown Police Station for mandatory testing (pictured Wilson St).
Rishwika was touched by her father when he supported the family Audi pulled out of the driveway in four-wheel drive and despite paramedics rushing to the scene, the child died.
Her father was taken to Westmead Hospital for mandatory tests and police are investigating.
The situation prompted a spokesperson for the federal Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts to urge parents to always remain vigilant when driving.
They said the federal government would introduce mandatory reversing technologies for all new vehicles from November 2025.
“Reversing technologies, including reversing cameras and motion sensors, increase driver awareness of vulnerable road users such as children behind a vehicle,” the spokesperson said. told Sydney Morning Herald.
The executive officer of child accident prevention organization Kidsafe, Christine Erskine, said the mandate could not be fully relied on to prevent further tragedies.
“Because of the unpredictability of children and their speed, and because they are so close to the ground, they are still very difficult to see no matter what technology you have,” Ms Erskine told the publication.
Ms Erskine said the best strategy was to ensure children couldn’t sneak behind cars in the first place.
She advised parents to do so keep children buckled in their car seats, locked in the house or behind closed gates.
Rishwika Salibindla (pictured) died after her father accidentally ran his SUV over her at a property in Sydney’s northwest on Friday afternoon
Average, Seven children under the age of fourteen are murdered every year driveway accidents and another 60 are seriously injured.
In 85 percent of these incidents, the driver is unaware that a child is near his vehicle at all.
NSW Roads Minister John Graham weighed in on the matter and extended his condolences to Rishwika’s family.
“I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family, friends and neighbors of this beautiful little girl who was so tragically lost. “I know the entire Toongabbie community will feel her loss deeply and the thoughts of the entire NSW Government are with them,” he said.
“NSW Police are investigating the circumstances of Friday’s incident, but in general I would like to remind all drivers wherever they are to be vigilant about the safety of children, whether in the car or out.”
Last weekend there was another 1 year old killed after being run over by a ute in Dubbo.