A SCHOOLBO Y struck by a car on the outskirts of east Belfast remained in a critical condition in hospital last night.
Robbie Shaw (12) from Belfast was hit by the vehicle on the Ballygowan Road, close to Roselawn cemetery on Wednesday. His family was last night maintaining a vigil at his hospital bedside at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. In a message posted on social media shortly after the collision, a relative said: “Wee 12 yo (sic) nephew knocked down today & in ICU in a coma.. his whole life changed in a split second.. #prayforrobbie”.
Get well wishes have been flooding in for the schoolboy, a pupil at the Royal Belfast Academical Institute and a talented footballer. His football club, Bangor FC Youth Academy, have appealed for prayers for their young player who is a member of its 2003 National League squad. In a message on the club’s Facebook page the club said their “love, thoughts and support” were with the little boy’s family.
The club last night also said they had “taken the decision to cancel our league fixture against Greenisland on Saturday”. “We think this is the right thing to do under the present circumstances,” it said. It is believed Robbie had just got off a bus on his way home from school around 4pm when the collision happened. Another bus collected the other children who had been travelling home from a number of schools in the area.
A spokeswoman for the Royal Victoria Hospital last night said the schoolboy remained in a “critical” condition
