A two-year-old child is in a serious condition in hospital after being hit by a van in the town of Irvine.
The youngster was walking with a 25-year-old woman near the entrance to a car park on the Ayrshire town's Dickson Drive when he was struck by a Ford Transit van. The vehicle was being driven by a 56-year-old man who stopped at the scene following the incident at around 8.45pm on Thursday August 18.
Bystanders reportedly rushed over to help the stricken child and called emergency services. Police and ambulance crews rushed to the scene and paramedics quickly took the toddler to Glasgow's Royal Hospital for Children - part of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus - for treatment.
Medics describe his condition as "serious". Posts on social media suggest that the area where the incident occurred was cordoned off while police conducted enquiries.
Cops have now issued an appeal for information in a bid to understand the circumstances. Officers are appealing to anyone who witnessed the incident, or may have captured it on a dashcam, to get in touch as soon as possible.
Sergeant Chris Hoggans from the Road Policing Unit at Irvine said: “Extensive enquiries are ongoing into the cause of this crash and I would appeal to any witnesses, or anyone with information who has not yet spoken to police, to contact us. This is a busy area and I am aware that a number of people stopped to assist.
"I would urge anyone who was in the area shortly before the crash, or anyone with dash-cam footage that may assist our investigation to speak to officers. Anyone with any information should contact 101 with reference number 3449 of 18 August.”
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