A man and little girl are recovering in hospital after being hit by a car outside of the Southport Library.
The pair, aged 37 and four, both suffered serious head injuries after being struck by an “out-of-control” vehicle at around 1pm on Wednesday.
The vehicle, driven by an 87-year-old man, lost control and reversed into the pathway outside the library.
Sergeant Beau McNamara says the man involved put himself in front of harm’s way to save the girl.
“We have evidence that shows that man has run to save that girl and has subsequently been struck by that vehicle,” Sergeant McNamara says.
“If that man did not do that then he wouldn’t have sustained any injuries,
“It was extremely courageous, in my opinion.”
The pair are recovering and have since had their conditions downgraded to stable.
It’s not clear whether the man and girl are related, but police did say the youngster was “with family” when the incident occurred.
The elderly man behind the wheel and his elderly passenger were both treated for shock and taken to Robina Hospital for further treatment.
A full investigation has commenced to determine exactly how something like this occurred, but police haven’t ruled out it being a medical episode.
“At this stage, it’s believed that the vehicle has come from the car park onto the footpath area, and investigations are still ongoing as to the exact direction. We’re still trying to just get to the bottom of that,” Sergeant McNamara says.
“We’re still trying to investigate to establish whether it’s a medical episode,
“The Forensic Crash Unit is currently still ongoing in its investigation. They’ll survey the scene, there will be a mechanical on the vehicle, and obviously, all that evidence will be collated to give us a clear understanding of exactly what happened and why it’s happened.”
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