A MOTHER and her 10-week old baby boy were knocked down by a runaway horse transporter in a horrific accident on Downpatrick’s Irish Street yesterday afternoon.
It’s understood the lorry had suffered a mechanical problem and that while the driver was out of the vehicle speaking with police, it somehow broke free and rolled down the hill with no one at the wheel, also injuring a male pedestrian.
Eye witnesses reported that the woman, from the Newcastle area, had her back to the lorry when it struck her and her baby son before crashing into the Downe in the Mouth dental surgery, pinning them below the vehicle, around 2pm.
The baby — who was being carried in a car seat — was uninjured and after being rescued was cared for by dental surgery staff before being taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast with his mother who sustained multiple fractures.
Members of the emergency services, who were on the scene within minutes, worked for around 30 minutes to free the woman who was conscious throughout.
She is believed to be in her 30s and was on her way to the dental surgery with her son when the incident happened.
An eyewitness told the Recorder that police officers were in Irish Street at the time of the accident, helping divert traffic around the lorry which appeared to have broken down.
“The lorry was parked in the middle of the road just before the entrance to the Irish Street car park. The next thing I knew it was careering down the hill towards people on the street.
“I shouted to people to ‘watch out’ before the lorry struck the woman and her young baby. There was no one in the driver’s cab when the lorry crashed into the dental surgery,” said the eyewitness who did not wish to be named.
The man revealed he spoke to the woman before the emergency services arrived and saw her baby being taken into the dental surgery by staff.
“The woman had no idea what hit her,” he continued. “She was in some pain when I spoke with her and reassured her that help was on the way. The lorry came from behind her. She had no idea what was about to happen. Everything happened so quickly.”
A member of staff at the Downe in the Mouth surgery said she was at the reception desk when she heard a loud bang.
“I looked up and saw that a lorry had crashed into our building. I went outside and people who had gathered at the scene told me that a woman and her young baby were underneath the lorry.
“People were very distressed at what had happened. The baby was removed and I took him into the surgery as work continued to free his mother,” said the woman.
“While what happened was horrific it certainly could have been a lot worse. It’s clear someone was looking after the woman and her baby boy. This accident could have been much more serious. Thankfully it wasn’t,” she added.
A spokesman for the Royal Group of Hospitals confirmed late yesterday afternoon that the mother and her baby son were both in a stable condition.
The Ambulance Service confirmed that while it transported the mother and baby to the Royal Victoria, the male pedestrian injured in yesterday’s incident later made his own way to the Downe Hospital. The extent of his injuries is not known.
Downpatrick police have thanked everyone who offered help to the emergency services during yesterday’s incident and have appealed to anyone who witnessed what happened to contact officers on 0845 600 8000.