8 year old girl dies after being hit by car in Doncaster

She was taken to the Royal Children's Hospital in a life-threatening state, but died as a result of her injuries.

The driver of the car, a 64-year-old woman from Doncaster East, stopped to help the girl.

The girl's father and grandfather arrived on the scene Thursday morning and were too upset to talk to the media.

Sukh Ghanas, a friend of the family, said the girl and her nine – year – old sister were playing in a nearby park with their parents before the accident.

The brothers and sisters were together at the time of the accident, but we do not know where their parents were.

Mr. Ghanas said that they did not cross the road when she was hit by a car.

"They were walking on the side of the road," he said.

Residents have described the crossroads as dangerous because it is there that Victoria Street plunges into a valley.

John Grouios lives 100 meters from the place where the accident occurred. He heard "a loud thud" from inside his house and came out to see what was wrong.

"There was a girl who was upset and another girl lying in the grbad who was in a deplorable state," said Mr Grouios.

"To see a little girl like that, I have six kids, it was hard.

"There were people helping him and I heard the sirens coming."

His son-in-law also lives nearby and also saw the consequences of the accident when he pbaded in front of his car. He was too distressed to talk to the media.

Mr. Grouios has lived in the area for years. He and his wife never let their children cross the road alone because of the speed with which the cars go down in the hills that lead to the hollow where the girl was killed.

"Even to take them in athletics at 200 meters, we would drive them."

He used VicRoads to install radars on the site. He and another resident neighbor, Joe Stafrace, also want the intersection of Victoria Street with George Street to be changed.

"If you're just looking at the intersection, you'll notice that someone will be in the left lane to continue straight ahead and another in the right lane," Stafrace said.

"But sometimes they do not know it's a right-hand turn only, and both cars go straight and race to take a lane."

Both men said that accidents were common here, but they never remembered such a fatality.

It is a busy pedestrian intersection, as there are two schools, a cricket club and a track and field track nearby.

Another man, resident for more than 40 years, told 3AW that there was an accident or near miss every few weeks.

"It's a very, very bad intersection … you have to do something," he said.

The police asked anyone who had filmed the incident or had seen the victim before the incident to contact Crime Stoppers at 1 800 333 000.

– with Larissa Ham