Northern Ireland

Boy (13) injured after being struck by van in west Belfast

Daniel Rice (13) was struck by a vehicle on the Glen Road on Monday
Daniel Rice (13) was struck by a vehicle on the Glen Road on Monday Daniel Rice (13) was struck by a vehicle on the Glen Road on Monday

THE driver of a vehicle believed to have struck a 13-year-old boy in west Belfast has come forward to police.

Daniel Rice suffered facial injuries and scrapes to his hand after he was hit by a van on the Glen Road on Monday.

His mother Joanne yesterday had appealed to the driver to "do the right thing and come forward" and claimed the driver had asked her son if "his leg alright" before driving on.

The teenager, a pupil at All Saints College, had been walking to the shops for his mother when the crash happened at around 4.45pm.

"He said he went to cross the road and the next thing he knew he had been hit and landed on his face," she said.

"He said the van hit on the hip.

"The fella asked him was his leg alright and then said 'are you sure' and the van drove off.

"I'm not blaming him, I know what kids are like, but he should have stopped. I'm angry that he didn't stay with Daniel or make sure he was OK."

Ms Rice said her son was helped by an employee at a nearby shop.

"God love Daniel, his face was all busted up and he got up and still went into the shop for me," she said.

"I said to him after 'why didn't you just come straight home' and he said, 'I knew you needed gas mum'.

"But he was obviously shook up as the girl in the shop saw him and asked him what had happened, he said he'd been knocked over outside and she brought him straight home as she said she couldn't let him walk home."

The teenager was treated in hospital for facial injuries and scrapes to his hands.

Ms Rice added that she had contacted police about the incident and later said the driver of the vehicle had made contact with the PSNI.