Residents rage after boy knocked down at pedestrian crossing

The Tesco lorry was parked at a pedestrian crossing. Picture: Submitted

The 13-year-old boy was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary after being struck by the vehicle as he attempted to use a pedestrian crossing on Colinton Road - after his view was obstructed by a Tesco articulated lorry parked nearby.

Eyewitnesses said neither the schoolboy nor the driver of the car could have seen each other round the lorry, which was making a delivery to a local Tesco Metro store at around 8am yesterday.

However, furious local residents claim they have experienced “consistent problems” with delivery drivers parking in the area, adding they hope the incident will act as a “wake-up call”.

One woman who witnessed the collision said: “It happened really quickly, the driver was not going fast, but the boy was not able to get out the way in time and he went over the windshield.”

“The driver looked really shaken up. I don’t think he could see the kid step out onto the road because of the lorry parked over one side of the crossing.”

She continued: “This is something which has been going on for a while with delivery drivers, they always park in locations which make it dangerous to cross the road.”

“Considering we have two or three schools nearby, I would hope they take more care over where they park in the future. I’m just disappointed it has taken something like this to make them realise that.”

Gavin Corbett, Green party councillor for the area called on the supermarket giant to “take residents’ concerns seriously,” adding: “From having spoken to the family and a witness to the accident, I know that the young boy is okay but also that it is sheer luck that it was not more serious.”

“Residents and pedestrians have had a longstanding problem of parking behaviour near that mini Tesco, both with large supplier trucks and some customers who seem to believe that double yellow lines are there just for show.

“We have to deal with this before someone else gets hurt.”

The schoolboy reportedly suffered minor injuries in the incident and was released from hospital later in the day.

A Tesco spokesman said: “We wish the schoolboy a speedy recovery. We take the safety of our customers, colleagues and other road users extremely seriously and we will work with the authorities as part of a review into what lessons can be learned.”

A police spokeswoman confirmed both the driver of the car and the driver of the lorry had been issued with fixed penalty notices, adding: “Police in Edinburgh were called to Colinton Road around 8.10am on Monday following a collision between a silver Citroen car, travelling eastbound, and a pedestrian.”

“The male driver of the Citroen and the male driver an artic lorry, which was parked on the eastbound carriageway, have been charged in connection with this and issued with a fixed penalty ticket.”