Toddler hit by 4WD on family holiday

A family’s fun-filled holiday almost ended in horror after their toddler was pulled under a four-wheel drive.

Perth parents Emma and Ryan Galloway and their two sons, Parker and Archie, were camping at Esperance caravan park in January 2023.

While prepping dinner, Parker went to have one last ride on his scooter before dinner as Mrs Galloway chatted with some campers parked next to them.

The then-two-year-old disappeared around a corner before Mrs Galloway heard a commotion and a woman yelled that a child had been hit by a four-wheel-drive.

In an interview with The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), Mrs Galloway recalled telling her neighbour: “I hope it’s not my kid”.

“Then I saw Archie run up and say ‘it’s Parker’,” she said.

Emma sprinted to the Toyota LandCruiser where her son lay behind the back wheel, as a crowd began to gather.

Parker survived the accident due to the quick thinking of those nearby, as a woman had already phoned the ambulance and a paediatric doctor who happened to be nearby had rushed to the boy’s aid.

Thankfully, Parker’s scooter appeared to take the brunt of the cruiser’s weight.

“The wheels have gone over Parker, a bit of the brunt of the weight from the LandCruiser had been taken by the scooter,” Mrs Galloway said.

She said her son surviving the incident was a “miracle”, as he was “knocked off and driven over twice by one of the heaviest cars”.

“He was on his belly, he was covered with a blanket, he was conscious, but just sort of whimpering and slightly moving his head —he couldn’t speak or anything,” Mrs Galloway said.

After being rushed to a local hospital, Parker had to be flown to the Perth Children’s Hospital.

Parker had broken his pelvis in three places, as well as a broken arm, a lacerated liver and had internal bleeding.

Mrs Galloway said onlookers had shouted for the driver of the LandCruiser to stop, but he didn’t see the little boy.

She said her family never blamed him for the incident.

“He just thought (Parker) was a speed bump,” she said.

The family was flown to hospital thanks to the RFDS - a service Mrs Galloway said she never thought they’d need.

“We’d had a look at an RFDS plane at the Royal Show before, but never in a million years did I think that we’d ever be flying in one in a real emergency,” she said.

“Doctor Gary and flight nurse Michelle were so comforting, reassuring me constantly. During the flight, Parker needed some medical attention, and watching Michelle work in such a confined space to stabilise him, I was in complete awe.”

After arriving at the hospital, Parker remained there for four weeks as his broken bones realigned. It only took another four weeks before he began walking again and was back onto his scooter.

While the pelvic fractures may take years to fully heal, Mrs Galloway said you wouldn’t know what happened to him if you saw him.

“If you met him now, you would never know that this happened to him last year,” she said.

Within the last year, the RFDS has retrieved 9,465 patients across WA, making 16,375 landings and flying 8,560,000 kilometres.