Boy run over by four-wheel drive: police

A four-year-old boy suffered serious head injuries after being run over by a four-wheel drive at a shopping centre in Gladstone in central Queensland.

Police say the boy and his mother were in an underground car park at Stocklands Shopping centre, in Kin Kora, about 3.10pm (AEST).

He either walked or ran behind his mother and then under the wheels of the vehicle that was turning into the same car park.

Initially, the driver was unaware he had run over the child until told by others in the car park, police said.

The boy was transported to Brisbane for treatment to serious head injuries.