A young Dublin boy has ended up in a wheelchair after a reckless driver drove a car over his legs and reversed back on them.
Cillian suffered horrendous injuries in the horror incident on Kildonan Avenue in Finglas on Saturday.
The five-year-old lad's legs are fractured with ligament and tissue damage, severe abrasions and tyre marks, and severe swelling.
Dad David Rafferty told Dublin Live: "They can’t really tell about the ligament damage until the swelling goes down on both his legs which would be a few weeks and they will have to give him an MRI."
Cillian and three of his friends were playing football when a ball rolled and got trapped under an incoming car.
David said: "They told the woman to stop so she stopped. And they told the woman again that they were going to free the ball.
"She clearly didn’t listen, drove off, and drove over my son’s leg as he was trying to kick the ball out.
"Then when the rest of the kids started screaming at the woman that he was under the car. She f******g reversed back over him.
"He’s now in a wheelchair."
Cillian was rushed to Temple Street Children's Hospital where they found his leg had sustained horrific injuries.
David added: "He’s in a bad way. He has tyre marks on his legs as well from where she reversed back over him.
"His leg is fractured, he has ligament and tissue damage, severe abrasions and tyre marks, and severe swelling."
David, who has CCTV overlooking the road, said he was "nearly sick to my stomach" when he watched the incident back on his cameras.
He told us that the residents on Kildonan Avenue have been campaigning for speed ramps for years following a string of accidents that have taken place on the high-risk road.
David said the road is often used by youths racing their cars at dangerous speeds.
He added: "[Just the other day] there was a car going about 120 km/p up the road.
"It’s disgusting. There was a hit and run in June. A child was badly hit in June. We started to campaign for speed ramps.
"So we are absolutely livid with Dublin City Council and we want speed ramps as a matter of urgency.
"It’s only a matter of time before a child is killed. DCC have refused us the three times we have campaigned for speed ramps."
Dublin Live reported in June that a five-year-old girl was left helpess on the side of the road following a shocking hit-and-run.
She was crossing over from one side of the footpath to the other on the tiny Kildonan Avenue stretch of road in Finglas in her Go Kart when she was struck by a careless driver.
The shameless motorist decided to speed away from the scene instead of checking on the injured kid following the broad daylight hit-and-run incident.
David said: "Because my house has CCTV I gave it to the guards, they blew up the reg and they got the guy. But that’s not the point.
"None of this is the point. ‘We’ll get them. We got the driver.’
"A child is going to be killed. We’re still in shock about Cillian. Not if, it’s when.
"The fact that there was a fatality on the avenue and there have been three incidents in the space of six months, please we implore f*****g do something about it."
David slammed the council for its refusal to put speed ramps on the road and added: "Every resident in Kildonan avenue is disgusted with DCC’s failure to act on the last hit and run and now there has been another incident. We all feel so strongly about."
He added that the council said they couldn't put speed bumps in because "there are not enough children on the road".
He added: "That's nonsense because there are 25 children living on Kildonan Avenue.
"We went to the neighbours. We’ve signed petitions in the past as well and they have still refused us. There are 25 children under the age of 10 living on Kildonan Avenue.
"The road behind us Kildonan Drive has speed ramps and there are five children and mostly pensioners living on that road.
"If the police or fire brigade need access, there is a road with no speed ramps on the opposite side of us with no children. So why the refusal to give Kildonan Avenue speed ramps is beyond us."
Local Fianna Fail Councillor Keith Connelly told Dublin Live that he has asked to DCC to reconsider the decision.
He added: "I’ve written to DCC through the area committee to ask to reconsider the decision and that was done today as well.
"Because other adjoining roads have got speed ramps but this one hasn’t. I think it shows that something definitely needs to be done.
"So I’ve asked the traffic advisory to review the decision. We have two children injured quite badly in the last few months. Each have broken legs.
"I think DCC needs to take it very seriously before a child is hurt or worse."
Dublin Live has contacted Dublin City Council for a comment.
