Police are investigating whether the driver of a car that hit two boys in Perth’s northern suburbs had been drinking.
An eight-year-old was rushed to hospital suffering critical head injuries and the 12-year-old was seriously injured in the collision in Girrawheen about 5.15pm yesterday.
Security camera footage showed them riding together on one bike on Amberton Avenue, before the collision with a Mitsubishi Pajero.
“We are terribly upset about that and straight away you always think, for goodness sake, how did that happen? Straight stretch of road,” Girrawheen Baptist Church pastor Rex Gabrielson said.
Both boys were taken to Perth Children’s Hospital, where they stabilised overnight and were expected to make a full recovery.
The driver, 39, and his son in the passenger seat, weren’t injured in the crash.
Witnesses told 9News the driver was hysterical, telling neighbours the boys rode in front of his car before he had the chance to stop.
The major crash unit is investigating whether the driver had been drinking.
“I don’t think I’m in a position where I’m going to be blaming kids for riding around in the streets,” Police Commissioner Col Blanch said.
“This is for a driver to pay attention to what they’re doing and if it turns out that there is the presence of alcohol, well I think that speaks directly to the cause.”
