Third child hit at notorious Dalby roadworks

A THIRD child has been hit by a car on a notorious stretch of roadworks in Dalby, two months after the first incident claimed the life of a young boy.

A Queensland Police Service spokeswoman said the girl, aged eight, was crossing Drayton St about 40m from a pedestrian crossing when she was struck by a utility around 12.30pm on Saturday.

Her family was nearby at the time of the incident.

A Queensland Ambulance Service spokesman said the girl received head and leg injuries and was transported to Dalby Hospital, before being airlifted to the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital, where she remains in a serious but stable condition.

Two other children were struck by vehicles on the Drayton St section of the Warrego Highway earlier this year.

On Sunday, March 4, Dalby boy Shykarn Latham was fatally injured when he was struck by the side of a van after step- ping onto the road.

Just over a week later on Monday, March 12, a sevenyear-old boy was struck by a car, fracturing his leg.

Western Downs Regional Council mayor Paul McVeigh described the latest incident as “a tragedy”, adding that the driver of the utility was “devastated”.

Roadworks on the Warrego Highway at Dalby, which the Drayton St section is a part of, began in August 2017.

“We will have these continuously changing traffic conditions until the end of the year and we do request both our travelling public to observe those changes as they come through town, and also for those in our community to observe the right procedures for crossing our roads,” Cr McVeigh said.

“There are a lot of blind spots.”

Cr McVeigh said he had spoken to the Department of Main Roads and Transport about the latest incident and was keeping them “fully informed”.