Family hope shock video is wake-up call
A family hopes confronting images of their girls being knocked down while crossing a road – but remarkably walking away with barely a scratch – will scare drivers into slowing down and provide a wake-up call to better educate children.
Just after 4PM in Western Sydney last Monday, a driver’s dashcam captured one of three young girls getting ice cream from a truck.
They race to get out of the rain before the confronting collision.
Eventually, the driver, a witness and neighbours emerge. One races over to the girls, and they yell out to call an ambulance.
After seeing the video Grandparents John Jolley and partner Tracy cannot believe six-year-old Tahni is alive.
John said: “I’m shocked to even see the kids still here.”
Both Tahni and her five-year-old friend Brooklynn were taken to hospital. Incredibly, they only suffered minor injuries. Brooklynn has some bruising while Tahni has a grazed lip.
The girls would have appeared to come from nowhere from behind the truck and Tahni's grandparents do not blame the driver for hitting them.
But they are thankful it was not one of the hoons that regularly tears down the street and they want the speed limit reduced to 40 kilometres per hour on all back streets.
Fiona Vandermeel lives on the same street with two boys of her own. The video brought her to tears
She says it reinforces the need to educate children about road safety.
“It's a massive, massive wake-up. Iwon't be taking such a laid back attitude to it anymore.”
