Children run on to busy road after escaping childcare centre
Two children, thought to be no older than four years old, have been filmed running towards oncoming traffic on a busy Melbourne road after they escaped a nearby childcare centre.
Dashcam footage, obtained by The Age, shows the children obliviously wandering across the 70km/h Ballan Road in Werribee at around 10am Tuesday.
One boy can be seen leading the other across several lanes of traffic as stunned motorists from both directions come to a halt.
Several drivers jumped out of their cars and raced over to the children, with one man recalling the terrifying encounter on social media.
“I rolled out of bed slapped on my clothes and was on my way, 10:15 I’m late next minute I had to rub my eyes as these 2 little kids no older than 4 years old are on an adventure running across Ballan road,” he wrote.
“Jumped out my car approached them slow asking them to give me hi fives and grabbed them my heart was racing then two workers from the eagle stadium side kindergarten come running over to grab them.”
He can be seen on the dashcam footage leading the children away from the edge of the road as another motorist raced to notify the daycare.
“Myself and several other motorists stopped to watch them until staff arrived,” a witness named Andy told The Age.
“From what I could tell staff were unaware of what had occurred, another motorist drove to the daycare to alert them – it was only then that staff came over and collected the kids.”
Moments later, as the children and motorists wait on the side of the road, a woman believed to be a carer from the the Werribee West Family Centre centre can be seen sprinting towards them.
Two workers then picked up the children and carried them back to the centre.
The Victorian Education and Training Department told Yahoo7 News they were investigating the incident after the children were left unattended.
“The health and safety of children in early childhood centres and schools is of utmost importance,” the spokesperson said.
“The Department has commenced an investigation after being notified of an incident involving children at Werribee West Family Centre on Tuesday, 12 March. Werribee West Family Centre is operated by a third-party early childhood services provider, not the Department.”
Yahoo7 have contacted Werribee West Family Centre for comment.
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