To think it was not an overreaction to call the police?

[hottubwhocares]

We were out today at a family event. We were parked up in the car park of the venue and were getting in our cars to travel home. There was a man parked next to us in the (relatively narrow) bays, window down, chatting to his girlfriend. He was there when we came out and approached our car.

DD age 8 was getting into the back passenger side of our car, so on the same side as his car. I was on the other/driver’s side. As I was getting in, I heard DD start to scream. Basically the man next to us had started to move his car forward and his back wheel had run over the back of her ankle/foot.

I immediately ran round the back of the car, picked her up, helped her into the back seat and took her shoe and sock off to have a look. The top layer of skin had come off and it looked bruised so I went round to his car, said sorry, I think you have hurt her so I am going to need your details.

He and his girlfriend then said ‘Why? I haven’t done anything wrong’. I asked if he was refusing and he said he ‘didn’t even know what happened’ and started mouthing off.

So, I called 999 and of course the second he heard I was on the phone to the police, he started offering his details.

Two police cars then attended. DH is furious with me and says I completely overreacted as DD’s injury was minor (scrapes and bruises) and I ‘see the worst in everyone’. I am very upset about his lack of support when our child was hurt and upset.

FWIW I would never move my own car when a child was down the side and if I had ever done anything like this I certainly wouldn’t be mouthing off at the parent of the injured child!

So, was it an overreaction to call the police?

This

also his weird "not realising" suggests drunk or stoned or impaired somehow

I was knocked down by a car quite violently as a child but I walked away with a bruised leg. are you saying the severity of the injury is important rather than the offence ? What do you consider is the line of it’s trivial to being serious?

Then the man hadn't driven off!!!!

I think the OP was shocked by her DDs screams as we all would have been and angry at the driver and feeling some guilt for the accident (we have a tendency to feel that if our kids are hurt) and that led to the police call.

The added extras we keep getting are her convincing herself she was right. I don’t think it required a 999 call saying child has be run over in a car park. Or rather of my child was hit by a car I wouldn’t be worrying about anything other then my child.

And I do t think most people are either - never why local FB is always asking for witnesses after the fact because people dealt with the injury - no the person causing it 🤷‍♀️

This time there was no significant injury but based on his response, in no way did it seem like he’d realised he’d done something awful. Next time it may have been a smaller child and he may have hit harder. Hopefully the police will have made him realise the gravity of what he’s done and he will think and be a lot more careful next time. I think you were absolutely right to call 999 and hopefully will have stopped him doing it again.

I know all parents should have eyes on the child 24/7 and especially in a car park, but this was an 8 year old walking in front of a parked car. It’s not unreasonable to think that a driver looking forward might actually have checked to see if anyone was walking in front of/very close to the car before they actually decide to move!

No im not callous.

Thats why id have been thinking about my child not about the driver. 🤷‍♀️

999 is for emergencies. No aspect of this is an emergency. It’s that simple.

He was refusing to give his details which would indicate he wasn’t going to hang around.

are you honestly saying that if someone violently assaulted your child, you would not be even remotely bothered about catching the perpetrator there and then? You wouldn’t be screaming at anyone to catch the person?

She ran from one car to another, it probably surprised the driver too. Her parents are responsible for getting their child into the car safely. The child has a scratch and the parent was more concerned about getting the drivers details for some compensation, than she was about consoling the child

Op only called the police when he was "mouthing off" at her, she asked for his details initially. If he'd just offered them he would have had a different outcome.

I’m surprised so many people are telling you off for ringing 999 rather than the non-emergency police number. Presumably if it were felt to be inappropriate, then you would have been told this by the call handler, or the police officers who attended, rather than needing to be educated by us lot on MN.

I hope your daughter is ok.

Nope, depends on a few things, size of her foot and the ground underneath etc. I have personal experience in the foot versus car stakes and also personal experience in not making pronouncements about things I clearly know nothing about.

I’m agreeing with a PP who said the DD’s foot wasn’t run over. Nowhere have I commented on anything other than that — but don’t let that stop you!

She ran from one car to another, it probably surprised the driver too. Her parents are responsible for getting their child into the car safely. The child has a scratch and the parent was more concerned about getting the drivers details for some compensation, than she was about consoling the child

Well, hurrah for you!

Ah, I see the bigger picture now! He most likely WAS on drugs, off his face on ket, most likely in a STOLEN car, with NO insurance, tax, or mot, deliberately trawling family events just looking for small children to ram into, at speed! Bet he's not even from this country. Lock the bugger up! ... have a word

No you were agreeing that if she had been run over she would have had fractures

Yes. Your point being…?

They should when there are other cars around. To keep them safe and to prevent them damaging anyone else’s car with the car door. Surely that’s common sense?

I don’t think it would have occurred to me to ring 999 in this situation.
I’d have checked her foot to see she could bear weight on it etc
Once I knew it wasn’t badly injured, I’d have probably said it to the guy but if he reacted the way you said, I would have just taken down his reg and reported it after I’d got my daughter’s foot looked at to be sure it wasn’t more than bruising.
You were in the situation though and had your reaction. You didn’t get in trouble with the police or anything so what does it matter?
I've seen people confront drivers before where they have turned very nasty even though they were in the wrong. I wouldn’t insist on trying to get their info etc if they are aggressive, just get the fuck out of there and call police afterwards for your own safety.
Theres something about this seems off though. You called emergency police to report a driver had run over your child’s foot and then got aggressive and they came and questioned the driver but just let you leave? Did they do anything to ascertain whether your dd was injured or not? Did they let you know the outcome afterwards? It didn’t seem like your husband was there at first but he was…what did he do/ say the whole time while you were helping your daughter/ confronting the driver/ calling the police? Did you get your dd seen to to make sure she’s not injured worse than you thought?

It’s not helping them into the car, it’s to avoid them getting hurt by nearby cars.

I’ve seen grown adults nearly hit by parked cars moving off, an 8yo child is even more vulnerable.

That people can get run over and not get fractures

Blaming it on a random is cold comfort when it’s your child that’s hurt.

He tried to leave the scene of an accident where a child was hurt, so you did the right thing.

I thought it was common sense to help a child into a car if there are other cars near the car? To prevent the child being hurt and to prevent the child damaging anyone else’s car other cars with their car door. If a parent was stood behind her, the parent’s foot would be scratched, not the child’s. The other driver would have seen an adult more than they would see a child too

I hope your daughter is ok x