Louise Walsh
A shocked mum has revealed how her three-year-old daughter is lucky to be alive after a scrambler bike crossed over her in a terrifying hit-and-run incident on Friday.
Little Holly Lewis miraculously escaped with a broken shoulder after the heavy bike knocked her down and ran across her back and shoulder while she was out for a walk with her family in a public park in Dublin
However, the two people on the bike failed to stop after they hit the little girl and raced off without checking if she was OK.
Holly's mam Sarah has reported the incident to gardaí and is now calling for harsher laws on scramblers, especially in public places.
"I was walking across the blue bridge into the Sean Walsh Park in Tallaght at about 2.30pm on Good Friday with my mam, Holly and my new baby," she said.
"The bike had already passed us with two teenage boys on it and ironically, my mam remarked that they were going to hit someone.
"They were obviously doing loops of the park because they came behind us again while Holly was skipping in front of us down the hill.
"I could see they had lost control of the bike, and they did try to swerve and stop, but they couldn't.
"They ran straight into Holly and as she fell, face first, into the ground, the bike went over her, across her back and shoulder.
"One of the lads fell off the back of the bike. I was just screaming at them to get the bike off Holly. As she lay there completely motionless for a minute, he hopped back on the scrambler and the two of them sped off.
"They never looked back, they never said, sorry it was an accident, is she OK? Nothing. They just drove off.
" I was in complete shock. Thank God there was a lady there who stayed on the ground with Holly. She didn't move for a second and all I could see was blood.
"The ambulance arrived very quickly, and she was rushed to hospital where she was treated for a broken shoulder and cuts and bruises.
"The paramedic told me that Holly was lucky to be alive. Imagine the weight of the bike with the extra load of two teenagers on it, driving across a three-year-old child.
"I'm still in shock to be honest. It hasn't hit me yet just how lucky she is. It could've been a lot worse.
"The gardai are taking it very seriously and are looking for the bike. Accidents unfortunately do happen, but this one could've been avoided.
"I knew to look at them that these lads hadn't a clue how to handle that bike, and they weren't even wearing helmets. They shouldn't have been driving it, especially in a public park where there are loads of children and elderly people.
"The fact that they never even bothered to check if my little girl was ok, or was alive or dead really gets to me. Even if it was initial panic, we were there for a while waiting for the ambulance, but they never came back.
"If anyone has any information on these lads, please contact the gardaí."
In a statement, gardaí said they: "attended an RTC involving a scrambler and a pedestrian that occurred in Sean Walsh Park, Tallaght, shortly after 2:30pm yesterday, Friday 15th April 2022.
"The pedestrian (a juvenile) was taken to Tallaght University Hospital to be treated for their injuries."
Investigations are ongoing.
