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Baby boy dies after being hit by reversing vehicle in Queensland

A one-year-old boy has been hit and killed in a regional Queensland, the 11th person to die in a car accident in a horror week on the state's roads.

The infant was struck by a car outside commercial premises on Edward St in Chinchilla on Thursday morning, police say.

“Initial investigations indicate around 10.45am a car was reversing near the entrance to a commercial premises on Edward Street when the boy was struck by the vehicle,” police said.

Emergency services attended but the boy was declared dead at the scene. Police said the driver of the vehicle, a 71-year-old man, was not injured during the incident.

Paramedics at the accident scene found a man who was taken to hospital suffering "emotional distress".

Police Superintendent Dave Johnson says the numerous fatalities are absolutely tragic and must stop.

"There's no reason to lose that many lives on our roads at any time period. There's no excuses for it, there's no reason for it," Supt Johnson said.

"We want it to stop right now."

Ten other people, half of them children, have been killed on Queensland's roads this week in a horror streak ahead of an annual safety initiative, Fatality Free Friday.

A one-year-old boy has been killed after being hit by a car in Chinchilla, Queensland. Pictured is a Google Maps image of the intersection of Edward and Chinchilla Streets.
A one-year-old boy has died after being struck by a car in Chinchilla, northwest of Toowoomba, in Queensland. Pictured is the intersection of Edward St and Chinchilla St. Source: Google Maps, file

The infant's death at Chinchilla comes after a 14-year-old boy died in a crash in a stolen car on Wednesday, and four children lost their lives in a crash with their single mum on Monday.

A 14-year-old was allegedly at the wheel of the stolen car that crashed on Brisbane's bayside, injuring four girls, the youngest just 10.

Six children were in the allegedly speeding car when it ran a red light, hit another car and wound up wrapped around a pole at Rothwell, north of Brisbane, on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

A mother, 26, and her four children who were in the second car, escaped serious injury.

Supt Johnson said said on Thursday he was concerned about underage drivers and people overloading cars.

"It's telling us the choices that drivers make behind the wheel are not the smartest choices," Supt Johnson said.

"The decisions they are taking at times are putting their lives and the lives of others at risk."

Also on Wednesday, an 86-year-old man died at Lake Eacham in Queensland's far north when his car hit an oncoming truck.

The worst of the crashes happened south of Kingaroy on Monday, when mother Charmaine Harris McLeod, 35, and her children Aaleyn, 6, Matilda, 5, Wyatt, 4, and Zaidok, 2, died when their car hit an oncoming truck.

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