Nine-Year-Old Boy Dies After Being Hit By Drunk Driver on Christmas Day

A nine-year-old boy who was hit by the car of a man who was drink driving on Christmas Day, has tragically died.

Josiah Sisson was just looking at Christmas lights around the corner from his home with his older brother on a quiet residential street in Springwood, south of Brisbane, when a car allegedly veered off the road and ran over him on Sunday night.

Witnesses have revealed that Josiah’s mother broke down as soon as she saw her son, while his father spoke with him to keep him distracted from his injuries before he was rushed to hospital.

Neighbours rushed out after hearing the eldest brother’s screams and desperately performed CPR on Josiah.

The Courier Mail reported that witnesses alleged that the drink-driver, 24-year-old Adrian Murray tried to reverse the car, but his engine gave out as the car ran over the boy who lay bleeding on the street, then the car smashed through a hedge, collecting a water tank and crashing into a house.

Police have alleged that Mr Murray was three-times over the legal drinking limit when he careered off the road and hit the young boy.

Witnesses claim he passed out once the gravity of the situation started to sink in.

Josiah was left fighting for his life when he was taken to Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital, and on Tuesday evening, a hospital spokesperson confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that Josiah’s family made the difficult decision to turn off his life support before he passed away.

Family friend pastor Peter Field made a brief statement mid-afternoon confirming the passing of the young boy.

“[Josiah’s family] believe in the power of forgiveness and they’re now processing this and they’re moving forward. They have another young son and as you can imagine they are all now trying to come to terms with the loss of this little boy, as nobody would ever anticipate something like this would happen to you on Christmas. They want to say thank you particularly to the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital who have done an absolutely outstanding job … the service and the care they’ve given has been nothing short of sublime,” he said.

The Courier Mail reported that on Tuesday evening, mourners gathered on the street where the tragic incident occurred, joined by friends of Mr Murray, who appeared to be apologising as the groups cried and hugged each other.

Mr Murray’s car was seized from the scene and his licence suspended.

He was released from police custody without charge after being questioned by investigators from the Forensic Crash Unit on Monday.

However, a police spokesperson said officers are expecting Mr Murray to be charged with a string of offences including dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk