An eight-month-old baby and two toddlers, aged 14 months and 18 months, are in a serious condition in hospital after their pram was hit by a trailer in Dumfries.
Police believe the trailer became detached from a Mitsubishi Outlander on Pleasance Avenue at about 15:15 on Monday and struck the pram on the pavement.
An 18-year-old woman who was pushing the pram was taken to hospital for treatment and later discharged.
A driver who stopped to help the children said it was “the most distressing and horrific thing I have ever seen in my life”.
The children were taken to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, then transferred to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Glasgow where their condition has been described as serious.
Police Scotland closed the road for an investigation and have appealed to the public for information.
Sgt David Kerr, of Police Scotland’s Road Policing Unit, said: “Inquiries into this incident are ongoing and we would urge anyone who have witnessed it to come forward.”
Michael Ashurst, 42, from Newton Stewart was driving through Dumfries when the crash happened and stopped to help at the scene.
“Obviously I saw what had happened and I just pulled over,” he said.
“We had to pull the trailer away because it had pinned the pushchair up against the wall – I am getting chills just talking about it.
“We did that and there were the three kids there all with cuts. I ran to my car, grabbed what I could and I went to see the childminder who was physically shaken and shocked at what had happened.”
He said he was still upset after what he had seen and hoped the children would be alright.
“I had nightmares last night – I have been up since half past five this morning, I just don’t want to go back to sleep,” he said.
“It is by far the most distressing and horrific thing I have ever seen in my life.”
