A woman who allegedly pushed a stroller out of the way a split second before being hit by a car in an alleged hit-and-run is fighting for her life in hospital.
The victim, in his 30s, was driving a pushchair near a play park in Bournemouth, Dorset, when the Toyota RAV 4 approached them.
The collision with the vehicle sent the woman flying through the air and landed in the middle of the road.
Pedestrians rushed to her aid and police and medical services were quickly on the scene.
She was airlifted to Southampton General Hospital with a life-threatening head injury. A man was arrested following the incident on suspicion of driving.
A woman reportedly pushed a pushchair for a split second before being hit by a car in an alleged collision in Bournemouth
The victim, in her 30s, is fighting for her life at Southampton General Hospital with a life-threatening head injury
Miraculously, the baby was unharmed, but was taken to hospital as a precaution.
Photos taken after the incident show a pram standing by the side of the road at the scene.
Two air ambulances landed in Redhill Park, a small nature reserve on the outskirts of Bournemouth, and as many as nine police cars were present.
It is alleged that the driver of the car, a 38-year-old man from the New Milton area of Hampshire, failed to stop at the scene yesterday.
After an investigation, he was arrested on suspicion of traffic violations.
A road closure was in place at the scene so that the emergency services could handle the incident safely.
Police have not revealed whether the woman pushing the stroller is the baby’s mother.
Police are calling on witnesses to come forward.
Miraculously, the baby in the stroller was unharmed, but was taken to hospital as a precaution
The woman’s collision with the vehicle sent her flying through the air and landed in the middle of the road
Police have been photographed at the scene in Bournemouth to collect evidence
Police Sergeant Richard Stroud, of the Road Traffic Unit, said: “We are investigating the circumstances of this collision and I am appealing to anyone traveling in the area at the time who witnessed the collision or captured it on dash cam to get in touch. take Dorset police.
“I would like to thank motorists for their patience during the road closure so that we could conduct our investigation.”
A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust said: ‘We were called to an incident in Bournemouth at 9am.
“We sent two air ambulances, three double-manned land ambulances, an operations officer and a doctor and transported one patient by land ambulance to Poole Hospital and one patient by air ambulance to Southampton General Hospital.”
Tracey Howe was on her way to a hospital appointment when she witnessed the incident.
After the incident, a 38-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of traffic violations
Ms Howe, 50, said: ‘I saw a pedestrian hit by a car as I was going around the one-way street.
“She crossed the road at the intersection near the park, the lights turned red, so the car should have slowed down.
“It all happened very quickly, it was terrible. I heard a noise and turned to see it. I think she made contact with the front of the car but didn’t hit the windshield and the car whizzed away.
“I saw who, I assume, the grandmother ran to the baby. It looked about 18 months old.
“I couldn’t stop and stop. Lots of pedestrians came running to help and the woman was lying on the side of the road.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk/contact, by email at scit@dorset.pnn.police.uk or by calling 101 quoting incident number 11 :111.