A Dundee dad has told of the terrifying moment his young son was “nearly killed” on a Dundee street — before being saved by his eight-year-old sister.
Little Jayden Carling, four, was walking across Charleston Drive’s pedestrian crossing with the help of his big sister Taylor, when a car came hurtling towards them.
She managed to pull Jayden, who goes to Tiddlywinks Nursery, back just as the vehicle came to a screeching halt — right where the boy had been a second before.
Their dad Darren Constable, 30, told of his anger.
He said: “My partner Michelle Carling and I were in our car with the kids on Monday evening and we stopped on Charleston Drive so I could go to the shops.
“After I’d gone in, the kids wanted to come in too, so my partner let them out of the car.
“She was watching them the whole time.
“Taylor pressed the button and when the green man and buzzer came on she put her foot out to cross.
“She was holding Jayden’s hand and he was already walking ahead of her, when a dark car, either black or dark blue, sped towards them.
“Normally Taylor would freeze but this time she acted really fast.
“Maybe it was because the tyres screeched and that made her act.
“She pulled Jayden back by the arm just in time — if she hadn’t done that they would both have been run over.
“The lunatic driver slammed on the brakes and came to a skidding stop in the middle of the crossing.
“They could have been killed, especially Jayden who was already out on the road.”
Darren explained that after the children were safely back on the pavement, the car drove off and neither he nor Michelle managed to get the registration number.
Neither of the children were hurt, but Taylor, a pupil at Birkhill Primary, was left “shaken” by the incident.
Darren added: “Jayden didn’t really know what had happened but you could see the fear in Taylor’s eyes.
“She hugged Michelle and kept saying ‘mummy, we nearly got run over’.
“We went through a mixture of emotions — at first we were shocked, then we were relieved the kids were OK.
“After that we started to feel really angry.
“We’re lucky that Taylor is very aware of road safety and always waits for the green man and the buzzer.
She did everything right but drivers should be paying attention too.”