A three-year-old boy suffered major injuries after being run over by a pickup truck in a busy mall parking lot Saturday afternoon.

At approximately 2:45 p.m, a black pickup truck with dual rear wheels drove over the toddler near the Walmart at Marlborough Mall. The driver of the vehicle fled the scene in an unknown direction.

“At that time it was believed that the youngster had perhaps bounced off the side of the vehicle, so initially the assessment after the collision was less serious than what it actually was," said Sgt. Mike ter Kuile of the CPS Traffic Section. "The mother of the child attempted to get the attention of the driver of the offending vehicle and rand down the side of the vehicle to get him to stop, he did not.”

The driver is described as:

  • A Caucasian male
  • Believed to be in his fifties
  • Having a full white beard

Several people rushed to assist the child and his mother but left the scene prior to the arrival of police and EMS. The child was transported by ambulance to the Alberta Children's Hospital in serious condition.

“As a result of the assessment, the injuries were determined to be quite serious," said Sgt. ter Kuile. "He suffered a broken pelvis and a broken femur. As a result of the information gleaned from some of the witnesses, we were able to obtain a partial plate for a vehicle and that was for a large black dually truck with an initial plate of 27M.”

“As a result of record searches, we were able to nail down a number of vehicles in the Calgary area. One of those vehicles we have acquired and is here at the traffic office. We’re still attempting to locate two other vehicles with that partial plate."

From the descriptions of witnesses, police believe the offending vehicle is a newer model truck, possibly a Ford F350 with dually rear wheels, and black in colour.

“We encourage the public, if they do happen to see a vehicle matching that description, to contact the police, 403-266-1234, obtain a complete licence plate, and where they are. If the vehicle is being operated, we don’t encourage somebody to try and stop it and speak to the individuals themselves.”

Anyone who witnessed the hit and run or assisted the injured child is asked to contact Sgt. Colin Foster of the CPS Collision Reconstruction Unit, 403-567-4000, or anonymous tips may be submitted to Crime Stoppers.