Witnesses have described the moment a young girl’s face was ‘ripped up’ after she was allegedly hit by a dirt bike as police charge a teenager following the incident.
NSW Police were called to Haydon Park on Copperfield Drive in Rosemeadow, 56km southwest of Sydney, about 5.45pm on Thursday.
Officers were told a man was allegedly riding an unregistered dirt bike across the sports field when he drove into a nine–year–old girl who was rolling in the grass.
It is understood he fled the scene without offering any help.
Paramedics treated the girl for facial injuries at the scene before she was taken to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead in a serious condition.
She underwent emergency surgery that evening, the same night she was supposed to watch Disney on Ice with family.
The young girl had to endure a second operation on Friday morning and plastic surgeons were brought in to assess if there was any permanent damage.
Police then arrested an 18–year–old man on Friday at a home in Ambarvale about 7.15pm following inquiries about the incident.
An 18–year–old man was arrested after an alleged hit-and-run in Rosemeadow on Thursday that left a young girl with serious injuries to her face
Security footage showed dirt bikes riding across pitches an hour before the alleged incident
The teenager has been charged with dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, causing serious injuries, and failing to stop and help after the crash.
A dirt bike was also found by officers at the home and has been seized for forensic examination.
Security footage, published by 7News, shows several trail bikes riding across the park pitches in the hour before the incident.
Pamela Duarte, who witnessed the incident, said the child’s face was ‘all ripped up’ as a result of what happened.
‘She had been rolling down the grass and then a bike just came and rode straight over her and cleaned her up,’ she said.
People in the park worked to stem the bleeding before emergency services arrived, including Brittany Roussell–Rutter.
‘What if she was by herself? She could have been dead,’ she said.
‘She wasn’t moving, she wasn’t breathing, and finally she started coming too.’
The girl’s mother was interstate at the time of the alleged hit-and-run but rushed home to be with her daughter.
Paramedics have said the young girl’s road to recovery will take a long time.
The 18–year–old was refused bail and was due to face Parramatta Local Court on Saturday.
