A mum-of-three has said she and her family have been left feeling "traumatised" and "shaken up" after her two-year-old son was hit by a cyclist whilst crossing the street in North Hill yesterday afternoon.
Chelsea Cook, 31, said she was crossing Charles Street near The Roundabout pub just after 3.30pm on the school run. Little Ollie had waited until the green man was on display, telling him it was safe to cross.
Chelsea said a speeding cyclist crashed into him at such a speed that it dragged him down the road, causing him a head injury and left him face down in the road.
The impact was so severe, she said, that it "took both shoes off his feet", Plymouth Live reports.
"We were walking back from the school run and were waiting to cross the road by the roundabout pub.
The green man came, Ollie walked forward and we were literally right behind him, and then out of nowhere this cyclist came and hit him from the right side and dragged him down the road, causing him to hit his head on the floor.
"The force that he hit him both of his shoes came off his feet. The cyclist just carried on and didn't even stop - he just left him face down in the middle of the road.
Ollie cried instantly, I didn't even see the bruise and bump on his head because I was more concerned about getting him out of the road. It was just afterwards that my partner said 'look you need to ring an ambulance immediately'.
"Then I saw the size of his head and this massive haematoma. Thankfully the ambulance came in five minutes and then the police came a bit later on.
Unfortunately, Chelsea says in the CCTV footage obtained by police, they are unable to see the face of the cyclist. She's now appealing for witnesses to come forward.
Chelsea says the footage shows the cyclist being followed through town and also from when they were travelling towards them just before crashing into little Ollie. All she knows is that the cyclist "had a black bike and was wearing all black".
Paramedics and police arrived in quick time, and as a result of his head injuries, cuts and scrapes on his hip he was taken to Derriford Hospital to be treated.
The family were sat in A&E for around six hours, whilst medical staff kept Ollie under observation to see him there had been any underlying injuries that might have needed a brain scan due to the size of the bump on his head.
The day after the incident, Ollie is "not at all his normal self", Chelsea says. She added: "'He's very quiet he's got these grazes and bruises all up his hips too.
Normally he's running around all the time, you can't stop him. I've been told to monitor him for at least 24 hours, possibly 48, to make sure that there's nothing else there."
"I'm just hoping that someone will come forward or will have any footage, or anything at all that will help. I just want something done about it, it's not fair that whoever's done it is probably sat at home eating and drinking whilst I have my two-year-old, and other two children who are majorly traumatised by seeing their brother being hit."
A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said: "Police were called to reports of a road traffic collision involving a pedal cycle and a pedestrian in Drake Circus, Plymouth at around 3.45pm on Wednesday 3 May.
"A two-year-old boy sustained a head injury and was taken to hospital for treatment and was later discharged.
"The cyclist failed to stop at the scene and officers have been unable to identify him."
At this time, there are no viable lines of enquiry, however if further evidence comes to light, the incident can be re-visited.
If you witnessed the incident or have any information or dashcam footage that could help with enquiries, please contact police via our website here or by calling 101 quoting 0596 of 03/05/23.
