Source : Perth Now news
A mum has blasted the family of a teenager on an e-bike who allegedly hit a young boy at a playground in Sydney’s south, leaving him with a fractured leg and requiring a wheelchair.
The 13-year-old was allegedly on an e-bike doing wheelies and riding through the monkey bars section of a playground in Engadine when he struck a five-year-old boy, who was playing with his sisters.
Sitting on the grass, the young child was allegedly hit with the e-scooter, leaving him with a fractured tibia and fibula.
Police were told the 13-year-old boy riding the e-bike did not stop after hitting the young child, instead fleeing the scene.
It wasn’t for another five weeks that the teenager was identified and dealt with under the Young Offenders Act.
However, the mother of the five-year-old has since issued a stern warning to the teenager’s parents.
“An ordinary afternoon at the park has turned into one of the most traumatic experiences our family has endured,” the boy’s mother wrote on social media.
“Six weeks later, he remains in a wheelchair unable to walk or stand.
“Sadly we don’t know when this will change or what his future looks like.”
The mother explained the impact the injuries had on the young boy to the teenager’s parents, urging them to think about what life is like for the little boy, now unable to continue life as normal.
She explained the family’s summer plans had been cancelled, with the young boy now unable to complete his final term of preschool or compete in any sports.
“Can you imagine what this is like for a five-year-old child?” she asked.
“To wake up each morning and be unable to get out of bed, walk to the toilet, or run to get his favourite toy?”
She said she is tasked with carrying her son wherever he needs to go, be it the lounge, the toilet or his wheelchair.
The impact of the child’s injuries have also caused stress to her two other children, who were at the park at the time of the incident.
“I have become his full-time carer, while still trying to meet the needs of our two other children, who are also extremely traumatised by the whole situation,” she said.
“Each day is debilitating and my heart goes out to any parent caring for children with disabilities that are in a situation like this permanently.”
The Sydney mother said the physical injuries her son sustained wee “only part of what our son’s actions have caused”.
She said her two other children were scarred by the incident and said there was no insurance or compensation for the emotional support, rehabilitation and “the enormous disruption this accident has had to our lives, financially, physically and emotionally”.
“I do not believe your son deliberately set out to hurt my child,” she said.
“He did however ride an e-bike in a place that he should not have been.
“He knew what he did as he stopped and turned to look at my son on the ground screaming, before riding off.”
The woman said the teenager may have been “frightened” or panicked after hitting the boy.
“Perhaps that is why he rode away rather than stopping to help or making sure my son was okay,” she said.
She then urged the teenager’s parents to reconsider allowing him to continue riding the e-bike, saying he was “not old enough or responsible enough to be riding an e-bike”.
