Boy, 5, critically injured after being kicked by horse

A five-year-old boy has been placed in an induced coma by paramedics after being kicked in the head by a horse in Sydney’s Centennial Park.

A young boy is fighting for life after being kicked in the head by a horse in Centennial Park.

The five-year-old child and his family were walking the horse along a riding track on Wednesday afternoon, about 1pm, when the accident happened.

Witnesses said the boy briefly wandered behind the horse when it kicked and threw him about one metre through the air before he landed heavily on the ground.

Specialist intensive care paramedics, as well as an aeromedical team, rushed to the eastern suburbs park where they found the boy in a critical condition.

It is understood the boy was unconscious for up to five minutes after he was struck in the head.

A 5-Year-old boy is in critical condition after being kicked in the head by a horse along a walking track in Centennial Park. Picture: OnScene Bondi

The child was placed in an induced coma at the scene, then rushed under police escort to the Sydney Children’s Hospital at Randwick where he was expected to undergo urgent surgery that afternoon.

“The patient was treated at the scene for a head injury and transported to hospital in a serious but stable condition,” a NSW Ambulance spokesperson said.

The boy was kicked in the head by a horse at Centennial Park. Picture: OnScene Bondi

Police said the horse belonged to the boy’s family and that it was being groomed ahead of a planned trail ride when it kicked and the boy was struck.

Centennial Parklands loop road was closed while police set up a crime scene to investigate the accident.

Signs nearby where the incident happened read ‘Caution horses walking’.

A spokesperson for a riding school within the park said the horse was not part of the school holiday program, and that it was privately owned.

The park was busy with families enjoying the Summer day and the last week of school holidays.

“It was pretty scary seeing all those ambulances and cops fly into the park,” a witness said.

“You never want to see that...best wishes to that poor child.”

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