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Sun-Herald - Sunday 8 April, 2007 I was 50m away when my son Connor was struck By Daniel Dasey, Candice Chung and Hannah Edwards |
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THE family of a young boy killed when he was knocked off his bike and crushed by a garbage truck say they do not blame the driver. Connor Greasby, 5, was riding near his family's home in Stave Place, Kellyville Ridge, at noon on Friday when he was hit by the reversing truck. Despite the frantic efforts of onlookers and doctors from a CareFlight helicopter, he was dead on arrival at the Children's Hospital at Westmead. Connor's father, Jason - who was mowing the lawn about 50 metres away when his son was struck - did not lay blame for the accident on the truck's crew or residents who had parked their cars on footpaths, forcing Connor to ride on the road.
"[The neighbourhood kids] always rode on the road. They used to go along and jump up the gutters and ride down the road and do jumps," Mr Greasby said. "When a car came along they just all got off their bikes and got off the road. I don't think it's anyone's fault. It's just a terrible accident."
After learning several vehicles may have been parked on the footpath, Pedestrian Council of Australia chairman Harold Scruby has written to the NSW Coroner seeking an inquiry focusing on the part the cars played in the accident. Mr Greasby said he, his wife Leisa and daughter Olivia were devastated. "He loved sport, he played Ozkick, he loved fishing, he loved his sister and his family," Mr Greasby said. "Everyone loved him. He was a beautiful energetic boy. He played with everyone up and down the street. It's very hard for us at this time. It's been awful, just awful." Flowers and wreaths were left on the spot Connor died. In a family photograph, Connor is shown with an Ozkick trophy. "He was hoping this year he might have got two trophies," Mr Greasby said. While family members were still coming to terms with Connor's death, neighbours were asking how it could have happened. Linda Lukas, who lives opposite the Greasby family, said residents were planning a petition calling for the banning of heavy vehicles in the street during certain hours. She said 20 or 30 kids regularly rode their bicycles together around the normally quiet residential streets. Connor was the sixth fatality on NSW roads this Easter. Police yesterday released the names of a Sydney mother and daughter who died when a four-wheel-drive hit a tree and rolled into a farm dam at Rainbow Flat on the state's Mid-North Coast on Thursday night. They were Parwin Nasrulla, 39, and 14-year-old Kazhin Salih from Harris Park. The male driver, 39, a boy, 17, and a 13-year-old girl suffered minor injuries. The national holiday road toll stood at 13 after the death of a motorcyclist in Melbourne early yesterday.
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 © This work is copyright and is reproduced under licence from John Fairfax Holdings Limited |
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