Father says he ‘nearly vomited’ as time has come for extra road safety measures in the village.
A TODDLER came within a hair’s breadth of being knocked down in Goleen recently, leading to calls for a pedestrian crossing and traffic calming measures as a matter of urgency.
A petition on change.org is rapidly amassing signatures, while local people are adding their signatures to paper petitions in local bars, restaurants and shops.
The response to the incident – which was witnessed by the boy’s parents and passers-by – shocked the local community who say the time has come to put a stop to speeding through the village.
On the bank holiday Monday, Chris O’Callaghan recalled seeing his three-year-old son, Tommy, step onto the roadway, and a couple shout a warning to the oncoming motorist.
He said both sides of the streets were full with parked cars and his partner, Kyra O’Hanlon, had been putting three of their five children – who range in ages from three to seven – into one car while he was putting the other two into another car on the opposite side of the street.
Chris said Tommy decided he wanted to go with his dad and stepped in between two cars and walked out in the middle of the roadway.
Seconds earlier, the dad witnessed the driver briefly slow down at a junction to check for oncoming vehicles, then pick up speed – estimated at 50km per hour – before skidding to a halt after hearing the warning shouts and seeing the toddler on the road.
‘I nearly vomited,’ said Chris. ‘I thought my heart was going to come out of my chest. You wouldn’t have fitted a hair between the gap of the car and Tommy. That’s how close it was.’
He said it was as if the incident happened in slow motion. And he praised the couple that saw Tommy and shouted at the oncoming car as the child stepped out onto the road. Adding to the unreal feeling of the incident was the fact that the electric car was so silent, said Chris.
The couple have set up the petition because there have been lots of incidents in the village involving cars, delivery vehicles and trucks.
‘Lots of people come here on holidays and they don’t know the roads and they are flying through the village,’ he said.
As the parent of three children attending Goleen National School, Chris said they previously requested speed ramps but they weren’t successful.
He said the time has come to put in a pedestrian crossing for the safety of everyone, including the elderly, as well as speed ramps to warn motorists about the poor sightline through the village.
