‘Could have ended in tragedy’: Dashcam footage shows girl hit by car on Melbourne street

Terrifying dashcam footage has captured the moment a driver slams on the brakes as a young girl darts in front of his car on a Melbourne street.

Terrifying dashcam footage has captured the moment a driver slams on the brakes as a young girl darts in front of his car on a Melbourne street.

“Luckily this driver was alert or this could have ended in tragedy,” wrote the Dash Cam Owners Australia Facebook page.

The video, which was filmed last Thursday afternoon, shows a young girl in pink pants dashing out from behind a parked car into the middle of the narrow street.

A man, presumably her father, has his back turned and appears to be doing some work on the house, which has a ladder propped up against the fence.

The driver slams on the brakes and the car screeches to a halt but still collides with the girl, bowling her to the ground as she tumbles over.

The man yells angrily and smashes his fist on the car’s bonnet before running to pick up the screaming girl, continuing to hurl abuse at the driver.

“She’s alright? She’s alright?” the driver asks.

Victoria Police has been contacted for comment.

The girl darts into the road. Picture: Picture: DashCamOwnersAustralia/Facebook

The driver slams on the brakes. Picture: DashCamOwnersAustralia/Facebook

On Facebook, many users said the dad was in the wrong.

“Parent doing a parental reaction … but FFS it wasn’t the driver’s fault. Have better control of your kid around roads!” one person wrote.

“The driver showed more patience than I would have. Glad the child is not hurt, but I’d be having a hard chat with dad later about his attitude and adjusting it accordingly,” another said.

“Dad has his backed turned, completely unaware! That child is lucky to be alive,” one woman added.

“I understand the fear reaction from the dad, but the driver wasn’t responsible for the child. Thank God that child is OK. Let’s hope it’s a lesson learnt by the dad,” another woman said.

One woman said the dad had “audacity” to hit the car after his child ran onto the road, while another man added “I hope the driver is sending the father a bill for a new bonnet”.

“Good driving to hit the brakes so quick, don’t know why the father would hit the car but he should be thanking the driver,” one person agreed.

But some argued it was a natural reaction.

“Wow. So much judgment here. Until you’re in either position you have no right to judge. All parties will have PTSD from this incident if my experience is representative. Kids can be unpredictable. Thank goodness this ended the way it did for all involved – it could easily have been a tragedy,” one man said.

Another user suggested both sides bore “a bit of responsibility”.

“You should be able to stop the car if something comes out onto the road so if you don’t have a clear view due to parked cars, I’d always drive a bit slower than the marked speed limit,” he wrote.

“A worse driver and the little girl would be dead … just because a speed limit exists it doesn’t mean that’s the speed one should be driving at. I think parked cars lining a street is a bit like rain, drivers should slow down a little.”

Originally published as ‘Could have ended in tragedy’: Dashcam footage shows girl hit by car on Melbourne street