Horror on Good Friday as boy, 2, killed by car while playing outside his home
‘Every parent’s nightmare’ in quiet cul-de-sac as Alex caught under wheels of vehicle when it pulled away
A TWO-YEAR-OLD boy has been run over and killed while playing outside his home.
The toddler was hit by a car in a quiet cul-desac in Dumfries in a Good Friday tragedy.
Neighbours screamed in horror as they saw the car bump over Alex Radan.
Despite desperate attempts by paramedics to save him, the boy was later pronounced dead at hospital.
All that remained at the scene yesterday was some chalk markings and a child’s tricycle as poignant tributes of flowers and a teddy bear were left.
Police have appealed for witnesses to the horror. Sergeant Bob McNay, from Police Scotland’s road policing unit, said: ‘Our thoughts are with the child’s family at this time.’
Tributes poured in on social media as news of the incident broke. One said: ‘This is beyond sad, it’s every parent’s nightmare, my condolences and thoughts go out to everybody involved.’
‘Neighbour was screaming with her head in her hands’
Another read: ‘Absolutely heartbreaking to hear this about such a young one. So, so sad. Heartbroken. Thoughts go out to the family and friends. RIP wee soul, fly high angel. So sad, so, so sorry for your loss.’
It is believed Alex was playing outside his home at Charnwood Place, Dumfries, where he lived with his older brother and parents Cristina and George. The couple own and run a takeaway business.
A worker at a nearby tyre-fitting business said he saw the accident on the firm’s CCTV. Police have taken away the camera footage for examination.
The worker claimed that the driver pulled out of a parking space nose first and ran over the child within seconds.
His colleague, who is a neighbour and friend of the family, also saw the distressing footage.
He said: ‘Very luckily you can’t see everything but sadly we can’t turn the time back.
‘We didn’t see the child, we only saw the car driving over an object.
It was going up and down, the car was bumping. One of the neighbours was in shock. I could see it on the camera, she was screaming with her head in her hands.’
The man said he saw the road closed off and his neighbour Mr Radan told him ‘Someone’s run over my child’.
He added: ‘Then he jumped in the police car and they were gone. I saw the family this morning and they went to the hospital.’
A neighbour said: ‘The kids were playing outside their home. The guy drove over the boy. He probably didn’t see him.’
Auxiliary nurse Sarah Watts, 29, returned home at about 7.45pm on Friday. She and other residents were told to park in other streets while police and specialist officers took measurements and pictures at the cordoned off scene.
She said: ‘It just looked like a crime scene with police and emergency services. It’s terrifying that something like this could happen in such a small street with only 11 houses. I don’t know the poor family but it’s absolutely dreadful.’
Sergeant McNay added: ‘The investigation is ongoing and we are asking for anyone who was in the area and witnessed the events to please come forward.
‘We are also keen to speak to anyone who may have CCTV overlooking the Charnwood Place area to get in contact, as they may be able to assist our enquiries.’
Meanwhile, police in Argyll and Bute are appealing for information following a fatal road crash near Oban on Friday at around 2.30pm.
The incident took place on the A85, east of Connel, when a black Kawasaki motorbike collided with a black Mitsubishi Outlander.
A 62-year-old man was taken to Lorn and Islands District and General Hospital where he was pronounced dead by doctors a short time later. Police officers are keen to speak to the driver of a white Transit van, saying that he may have witnessed the road tragedy.