Boy chasing after ball is critical after being hit by car

RAPHAEL Neophytou, a boy of just eight years of age, is in critical condition after being hit by a car on Sunday evening at the Ayiou Sila area in Limassol.

Raphael was at a birthday party when, at 7:30pm, he tried to cross Alexandros Papadiamantis road to retrieve the ball he and his friends were playing with from a nearby field.

Upon his return, he was hit by a car driven by a 46-year-old woman.

According to Head of Traffic Yiannakis Georgiou, “there is a case to be made for negligence since the road was wide, visibility was good and the boy had almost made his way across the road.

“I cannot understand how she hit him. She must have been distracted.”

The boy was first transported to Limassol Hospital, but the severity if his cranial injuries warranted that he be transported to Nicosia Hospital where he was placed on a ventilator.

The woman driver was arrested and placed under remand, and is to be questioned by police.

She claims she did not see the boy and that she was not speeding.