Chilling moment Melbourne child escapes excursion, runs towards passing truck

“Hindsight’s a wonderful thing, but you should know where each child is if you’re taking care of them,” a worried resident said of the incident. 

A young child has caused chaos after reportedly breaking free from an excursion at a Melbourne childcare centre.

Last Friday, The Grove Children’s Centre in Coburg took its children to a local park, where they played before returning to the centre. 

But by the time they came back, the staff realised one of their children was missing from the lineup. 

RELATED: ‘Where’s the justice? Our little girl almost died and they walk free’

CCTV footage shows the chilling moment a child wandered towards moving truck. Source: 7News

Boy escapes excursion and explores streets alone

CCTV footage showed the child running down an alleyway, which backed onto a residential road. 

Thankfully, the child came to a halt just as a large truck drove past, 7News reported. 

The child was reported wandering alone at 11:49 AM, but four minutes after the child was spotted, a woman was seen frantically running down the same alleyway in search of the child. 

Then, at 11:53 AM, she approached another woman pushing a pram, who had the child inside. The boy was reunited with the staff member and returned to the childcare centre. 

It’s reported the child was in tears when the woman with the pram discovered him. 

RELATED: ‘Overwhelming’: Ipswich childcare centres plagued by stinky rubbish dumps

A resident discovered the boy before a staff member returned him to the childcare centre. Source: 7News

Young boy stops just a truck passes on street

Nearby resident Sophie spotted the child and said she was “worried about him” as she “didn’t know who he was.” 

“I told him ‘Come here, I’ll take you to your house’ and he ran away crying,” she added. 

The footage of the boy coming close to an oncoming truck was “pretty distressing”, another resident shared.

“I think you’d have to be asking serious questions after that about who is at fault,” they said. 

“Hindsight’s a wonderful thing, but you should know where each child is if you’re taking care of them.” 

A spokesperson at Grove Children’s Centre said the entire incident was “very distressing.” 

“The welfare of our children is our paramount priority,” they told 7News.

“The incident is under investigation, and we will work with the relevant authority in relation to our reporting obligations, and therefore will not be making any further statement at this time.”

Originally published as Chilling moment Melbourne child escapes excursion, runs towards passing truck