Lucky to be alive Mother calls for scrambler ban after toddler ran over in horror Tallaght incident

A mother who watched in horror as her toddler was hit by a couple of youths on a scrambler in a busy park is calling for an outright ran on the off-road motorcycles.

Sarah Lewis said her three-year-old daughter Holly is lucky to be alive following the terrifying ordeal at Sean Walsh Memorial Park in Tallaght on Good Friday.

Appearing on RTE One’s Claire Byrne Live programme last night, Ms Lewis said she, her mother and her two-month old baby and daughter Holly were walking through the park when they noticed a couple of young lads going up and down the park on the same scrambler.

"My Mam made a comment that they were going to hit somebody and unfortunately ten minutes later they came up beside us and they went straight into Holly and sent her flying face first into the ground,” she told host Claire Byrne.

"The bike went over her back, her shoulder and her head,” she said.

"She was lying there for a few moments. I just froze in complete shock. I couldn’t move,” she said. 

One of the youths fell off the scrambler but jumped back on and the pair sped away, she said.

"They didn’t even look back,” she said.

Holly, meanwhile, was rushed to nearby Tallaght General Hospital where she was treated for a broken shoulder and numerous cuts and bruises to her face and body, Ms Lewis said.

"It was a terrible shock,” she said.

"I was very lucky that Holly survived, it could have been a lot worse,” she said.

But she said it’s only a matter of time before another child or person is killed and said scramblers should be banned from use in public areas.

"They should be completely scrapped,” she said.

Meanwhile, Fianna Fail TD John Lahart who also appeared on the show said legislation is currently progressing through the Dail and laws regarding scramblers are expected to come into force this summer.