Lucky father and baby duo survives collision by car in Australia

May 11, 2010 by Shawn Douglas
Filed under: News, Videos

A newly released video shows a lucky father and baby son being struck by a car but miraculously surviving the impact.

On July 2, 2008, Andrew Leech was holding his four-month-old son Hayden while walking down a sidewalk with his grandparents in Penrith, Sydney. Then it happened: an out-of-control vehicle jumped the curb and headed straight towards them.

In an emotional recounting of the events, Leech told interviewers of Nine Network’s “A Current Affair” that with nowhere to escape to, he made the split-second decision to turn and protect Hayden, lofting him in the air.

“I don’t have to be reminded of it,” he was quoted as saying in the Herald Sun. “It’s more or less the first thing that comes up in my mind straight away. It just goes ‘ting’ first thing,” he added.

Leech said that he was confident in his ability to “take the hit” but knew that his son wouldn’t be able to do so.

“I can repair,” he said of his son, “[but] there’s no way he’s gonna’ repair. So I thought if they hit the back of me, that’s fixable. He’s not fixable.”

The crash was captured on CCTV cameras in the store front where it occurred. The video can be seen on YouTube, showing Leech pinned between the car and a glass window while lofting his son in the air.

Leech’s grandparents were also struck by the car, driven by an 82-year-old man who suffered a heart attack while driving. Leech, his grandparents, and the driver of the car have recovered from their injuries.

Reflecting on the accident afterwards, Leech said of his son “He’s lucky to still be here, but he wasn’t meant to go that day.”

View the Video here: