SHOCKING video of the moment a young boy ran into the path of a car at a pedestrian crossing has been released to highlight an important safety message.

The mother of the four-year-old, who escaped from the crash with minor injuries, asked police to publish the CCTV footage as a warning to other parents.

The youngster was waiting to cross the road with two other children and a parent. The footage shows a cyclist, who was also waiting to cross, taking a gap in the traffic. The boy then follows but is struck by an oncoming car.


Dorset traffic police shared the video, which happened in Bournemouth on Cleveland Road at the junction of Windham Road on Friday morning, to their Facebook page and wrote: “The mum of this four-year-old child wanted to release this video to highlight how quickly an incident can happen involving your child.

“If you’re at a crossing and small children are alongside you, please consider your actions as a child may think it’s safe to walk into the road.”

They added: “No blame is attached to the driver of the car.”

In a further comment, they stated the cyclist “had no responsibility over the child and is therefore not to blame.”

“What is evident from the video and circumstances known to us is that the child ran into the road after the cyclist crossed while traffic travelling from their left and right still had a green light. Whether the incident would have happened had the cyclist waited we’ll never know.

“The child’s mother supported the release of the video as she wanted to highlight how quickly things can happen and hoped that other people with children don’t have to experience a similar situation.”

Rob Hattersley, chief executive of Bournemouth-based charity SafeWise, said the incident highlighted the importance of setting “a good example to our children on the street, as well as anywhere else”.

“We are all responsible for each other. Children learn by copying and doing. At SafeWise, we teach children and their parents about road safety in a real street scene where they can practise crossing the road safely.

“We’d like to encourage all schools to make sure they have booked – it’s as important as reading, writing, and maths.”

A Dorset Police spokesperson said they were called to the incident at 10.37am on Friday. Paramedics were also in attendance.

“No further action was taken in relation to the driver involved,” the spokesperson added.