A Perth mum has opened up about the horror of a 4WD driver towing a van who ran over her son in a caravan park, thinking he was a speed bump.
Emma and Ryan Galloway were staying at the packed camping facility at Esperance, Western Australia with their sons Archie and Parker, now 7 and 4.
On the evening of January 10, 2023, Parker asked if could go for ‘one more lap’ on his scooter before dinner.
As Parker, then aged 2, crossed the road, a man in a LandCruiser pulling a trailer failed to see the toddler as he searched for somewhere to park.
Parker was run over by both the front and back wheels of the vehicle and was covered by a blanket under the car by the time his parents and brother made it to the scene to see what the commotion was.
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‘He was conscious but not really responsive so we were just sort of laying with him under the car until the ambulance came and took him to the hospital,’ Ms Galloway said.
‘The driver had knocked Parker over with his bullbar and then driven over him with his front wheel. Then drove over him again. He just thought he was a speed bump,’ she told The Flying Doctor Podcast.
‘It was just really unfortunate timing. No one is to blame. But there were a number of witnesses who saw the whole thing. It was horrifying.’
If there can be any good fortune in this sort of tragedy, the Galloways had it – the first people on the scene were a paediatric doctor, a nurse and a midwife.
Parker’s mum said they were the first lot of angels to look after her boy.
‘He was on his belly and he was conscious but he was whimpering. He was moving his head slightly but he couldn’t speak. At that stage, we didn’t know what had happened,’ Ms Galloway said.
When Parker arrived at the local hospital, doctors discovered the extent of his injuries and he was flown to Perth Children’s Hospital for treatment not available in Esperance.
He was taken to Perth by the Royal Flying Doctor Service, the second lot of angels who helped save Parker.
‘It was just so inspiring to watch them stabilise him during that flight and working in such a tiny space,’ Ms Galloway said.
‘I still didn’t really know what was happening and it was extremely loud in there … and they were just so beautiful to me because I was obviously very upset.
‘From the minute that they met you, they just made you feel so comfortable and while no doctor can say everything will be fine, you knew you were in good hands.’
A full body scan showed his pelvis was broken in three places, his arm was broken, he had internal bleeding and a laceration on his liver.
The distraught parents feared the worst – but their brave boy survived.
He was in hospital for four weeks but because of his injuries ‘he just had to lay there’ in bed, which was very difficult for everyone, his mum said.
‘There were times where he’d just be screaming all night. But he mostly just watched TV, that’s all we could do. It was heartbreaking to watch,’ she said.
The mum and dad took it in turns to stay with Parker through the night, watching over him while the other caught up on sleep at home.
When he was eventually well enough to be discharged, he still needed to use a wheelchair until he was able to move easily again.
Police who later saw CCTV footage of the accident told the Galloways ‘it truly is a miracle he survived’.
Emma thinks the way Parker’s scooter fell in front of him on the road may have taken some of the vehicle’s weight.
‘It was extremely, extremely lucky,’ she said.
Parker still has some issues with walking and movement and has checkups every six months.
But he is riding his scooter again and is ‘jumping around’ like any other four-year-old boy.
‘He’s just loving life now,’ Emma said.