A Sydney father who towed his 12-year-old son on a skateboard behind his car says he is shattered now the boy is in critical condition.
The boy fell off his skateboard on Saturday night, after he and two friends were riding skateboards on Thornley Street, Marrickville, while holding the rear of a Kia Sportage, with the 12-year-old's father behind the wheel.
The boy hit his head on the ground and was taken to Randwick's Children Hospital and placed in an induced coma.
He has a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain, police say.
"It's our information that the father was fully aware that he was towing the boys," crash investigation unit Inspector Phillip Battin told reporters on Sunday.
The father told Network Ten in a statement he was "shattered".
"I am just devastated," he said.
"I just ask that you pray for my son."
It is believed one of the skateboarders being towed yelled out to the driver before the accident.
"At a point somewhere along Thornley Street, one of the young fellows yelled out to the driver in relation to the surface of the road changing," Insp Battin said.
"Shortly after that time, one of the young fellows, the 12-year-old son of the driver, lost his grip."
A police spokeswoman said the driver underwent blood and urine tests and inquiries were continuing.
Police have asked anyone who saw the incident to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
