BARRIE, ONT. -- The parents of an eight-year-old who was hit by an SUV on his way to school Tuesday morning are urging the driver who took off to do the right thing and come forward.
Brothers Blake and Landen Douglas say 11-year-old Landen was a few steps ahead of his younger sibling at the intersection of Wright Drive and Ardagh Road in Barrie shortly before 9 a.m. when an SUV ran into Blake.
"It (the street signal) showed the walking sign for us. Me and my brother walked forward. The guy was parked. He pulled out his phone and then started driving forwards and hit me," Blake says.
The boy says he notified the school of what had happened when he arrived, and they called his parents.
"Absolute disbelief and fear," says the boy's mom, Britteny Gladding.
His dad, Brandon Douglas, said he was horrified. "Obviously, every parent's nightmare when, you know, your kids are walking to school."
Douglas says the intersection doesn't have a crossing guard, and that they, along with their neighbours, have been asking for one for years.
Gladding says Blake wasn't physically hurt, just shaken up by the incident. He was back at school today.
Even though Blake wasn't injured, Barrie police are focused on finding the driver.
"There is no doubt in our mind that this motorist knew exactly what took place. For whatever reason, he decided to leave the scene," said Barrie police spokesperson Peter Leon.
Police describe the driver as being tall with a moustache. He was wearing a baseball cap and driving a silver or grey SUV.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Barrie police or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers.
"If this was your child or a neighbour, you would want to make sure that the person responsible for this is located and dealt with accordingly," Leon says.
