Boy, 6, told 'don't run' before crash

An inquest into the death of six-year-old Ryan Leo, who was killed when he was struck by a car in Sydney last year, had been told not to run.

Moments before six-year-old Ryan Leo was fatally struck by a car outside his taekwondo class in Sydney's south, a teenage witness heard someone say "don't run".

The "confident and outgoing" six-year-old was in the care of a paid nanny when he was hit by a car on Durham Street, Hurstville, on July 28 last year.

A teenage boy told an inquest into Ryan's death on Monday he saw the car that Ryan was in park and heard someone tell the six-year-old not to run.

But he said the little boy was running by the time he had made his way around to the front of the parked car.

Moments after stepping away from the parked car's bumper, the witness, who cannot be named, said the boy was hit by another car.

"When he was hit he was on the top of the car and then the car moved on and he fell onto the road from the car," the teenager told the inquest through an interpreter.

The inquest heard Ryan had just been dropped off when he began crossing the road to get to his martial arts class in Sydney's south.

He suffered severe head and chest injuries and was taken to St George Hospital where he died two hours later.

Counsel assisting Sgt Durand Welsh said there was no evidence the driver was distracted, had inadequate sleep or was using her mobile phone in the moments before the collision.

"In short, she states that she did not see Ryan Leo. She heard a boom ... and saw a child on the roadway," Mr Welsh said.

Ryan's father Ben Leo cried as he showed a collection of photographs of his son in the park with his mother, celebrating birthdays and attending his first days at school.

The presentation ended with the words: "We will love you forever."

"It wasn't easy for me to go through the pictures," Mr Leo said.

The inquest is expected to run for three days.


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Source: AAP


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