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Aussie toddler crushed by LandCruiser at campground

Emma's family were on holiday when toddler Parker had a freak accident
Photo of young boy with curly blond hair hanging from the monkey bars
Our boy is a miracle
Supplied
  • At a campground they knew and loved, Emma Galloway, 42, from Myaree, WA, and her family were soaking up the summer sun in Esperance, WA, when the unthinkable happened.
  • What was meant to be one last scooter ride before dinner, left three-year-old Parker fighting for his life.
  • Now one year since his accident, Parker is back to being a tiny hurricane, running and jumping around again!

Here Emma tells her story in her own words.

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Cheers,’ my hubby, Ryan, then 42, smiled as we clinked our wine glasses with our boys’ water bottles.

It was Christmas 2022, and the next day Ryan, our sons, Archie, then five, Parker, two, and I were going on an adventure.

On Boxing Day, we packed our caravan, piled into the car and set off on an eight-hour road trip to Esperance, WA.

Returning to a campground we’d been travelling to for years, we felt right at home the second we arrived.

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It was perfect – our campsite was just 20 metres from the onsite playground, so Ryan and I could always keep an eye on the boys.

A few days into our holiday, I was making dinner after a long day on the beach while Parker watched TV in the caravan and Archie was at the playground.

‘Can I go for one more little scoot before dinner, Mum?’ Parker asked.

‘Of course you can,’ I smiled.

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Photo of young boy with curly blond hair hanging from the monkey bars
Our boy is a miracle (Credit: Supplied)

Pulling on his helmet, Parker scooted ahead on the footpath towards the playground.

Ryan and I followed close behind, stopping for a quick chat with our camp neighbours to hear about their day.

We’d only turned away for a brief moment, but when I noticed people suddenly rushing towards the playground, my stomach dropped.

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‘A kid has been hit by a car,’ I heard a passer-by say.

‘I hope it’s not my kid,’ I said, looking around frantically for Parker.

That’s when I heard Archie calling out for me. 

‘It’s Parker!’ he yelled.

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As panic took over me, Ryan and I raced towards the road.

Picture of two young boys wearing matching orange shirts the day before the accident
Archie and Parker the day before the accident (Credit: Supplied)

A crowd of people were forming around a LandCruiser towing a camper trailer.

That’s when I saw Parker, lying tummy down, underneath the draw bar which connected the trailer to the massive 4WD.

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Someone had covered his little body with a blanket and his helmet was next to him.

I could see he was conscious.

Kneeling beside our boy, I stroked his curly blonde hair. 

‘It’s going to be okay,’ I whispered as he whimpered in pain between ragged breaths.

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Thankfully among our fellow campers there was a paediatric doctor, a nurse and a midwife.

These angels kept a close eye on Parker while we waited for the ambulance.

Picture of injured toddler on the Royal Flying Doctors Plane
On the flying doctor plane (Credit: Supplied)

No-one knew exactly what’d happened.

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While our camp neighbours took Archie back to their campsite, paramedics arrived and whisked Parker, Ryan and me to Esperance Health Campus where a team of doctors was waiting.

Full body scans showed Parker had broken his pelvis in three places and his left arm, and he had a lacerated liver and internal bleeding.

‘We’re not equipped to deal with his injuries,’ a doctor said, adding they’d called the Royal Flying Doctor Service to take us to Perth Children’s Hospital. 

Heading back to camp, Ryan packed the car and got ready to make the long drive home with Archie the next morning, while I waited at Parker’s bedside.

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By now, police had reviewed the campground’s CCTV footage.

I felt sick as an officer shared the heartbreaking details.

Parker was seen leaving the footpath to cross the road the LandCruiser driver had been driving along looking for a parking spot.

Photo of young boy recovering in hospital and playing with colours blocks
Parker recovering in hospital (Credit: Supplied)
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He was going very slowly but the road sloped slightly upwards meaning the poor driver couldn’t see Parker – and hit him, knocking him off his scooter.

Thinking he was driving over a speed bump, he’d accidentally driven over the scooter first, then crushed Parker’s tiny body with his front wheel and again with his rear wheel.

Our sweet boy had been run over twice.

It wasn’t the driver’s fault – it was just bad timing.

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‘He shouldn’t have survived that,’ the officer said. But my strong boy had.

We landed in Perth around 2am, and doctors worked all night to get Parker’s pain under control.

When Ryan joined us at hospital that afternoon, after leaving Archie with my sister, Kylie, I burst into tears.

‘How can this be happening?’ I cried, feeling helpless.

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Photo of young boy sitting in a wheelchair
Parker in his wheelchair (Credit: Supplied)

‘It was an awful accident,’ Ryan soothed.

After a few days in hospital, Parker was put in traction to realign his broken pelvis while it healed.

Stuck on his back and unable to move was torture for our active, cheeky boy.

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‘Can I have more vanilla ice cream?’ Parker asked between winces.

Charming the nurses with his smiles, Parker was their favourite patient.

‘You have to get better so we can go play,’ Archie said when he visited.

It felt like a miracle when, after multiple scans, doctors confirmed our little fighter wouldn’t need surgery.

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And after four weeks in hospital, on January 28, Parker got the green light to continue recovering at home.

He had to learn to walk again, and needed a wheelchair.

Family photo capturing parents and two young boys cutting a birthday cake
Me, Parker, Ryan and Archie (Credit: Supplied)

But returning to hospital a month later for a check-up, we were in the waiting room when Parker stood up from his wheelchair all on his own and took his first very wobbly steps.

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By April, our tiny hurricane was running and jumping around again!

While it could take up to five years for his broken pelvis to heal completely, it hasn’t slowed him down.

As soon as Parker, now four, felt well enough, he was back on his scooter. And he rides alongside Archie, seven, to school every morning.

Since the accident, both boys are more cautious of road safety and never stray far from me.

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I’m not religious but I’m sure Ryan’s late dad Barry and his nan Lillian were looking over Parker that day.

It’s a miracle our brave boy survived.

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