An 11-year-old girl is in critical condition in a Hamilton hospital after being hit and dragged by a van in Kitchener’s north end.
According to Waterloo Regional Police, the 53-year-old man driving the van had just left his house – on Westwood Drive, near Fischer-Hallman Road and Glasgow Street – shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday, when he realized he had forgotten something and put his car in reverse.
Backing up past his driveway, police said, he then began to drive forward into the driveway – not noticing the 11-year-old cyclist in his path.
“He didn’t see her as she was coming down the sidewalk,” said Sgt. Terri Turner.
The girl’s grandfather, Mohan Singh, said the two of them, and the girl’s younger sibling, were on their way to a nearby park at the time.
Singh said he and the four-year-old were down the road from the 11-year-old when they heard the crash.
“I just heard a bang, and cries,” he told reporters.
Singh said he then rushed over to the white van – where he could hear his granddaughter crying – and called 911.
“It appeared that she was run over by the van,” he said.
The girl was initially taken to Grand River Hospital before being airlifted to Hamilton.
