A child “will be killed” if school pupils are forced to continue crossing a main road in Co Fermanagh, it has been warned after a boy was struck by a vehicle.
The collision happened at Dernawilt Road, outside Roslea, on Tuesday evening, and the youngster was taken to hospital by ambulance.
His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
It happened at a bus stop where children returning from local schools are dropped off, and are forced to cross the busy road to access the grounds of a shop where they can be collected by parents.
The shop owner has warned it is “only a matter of time” before a child is killed unless safety measures are put in place to prevent them having to run across the main road.
Jim O’Neill, who owns the Costcutter store at Dernawilt Road, said he has been highlighting the danger for over six years.
He has called for a planned park and ride in the area to get the green light after a planning application was made in September.
“So many children from schools right across the area get dropped off at that bus stop, and they have to make a run for it across the road,”he said.
“We have been warning for years that unless this is sorted, a child will be killed here. We saw on Tuesday that the young man made a dash for it, but didn’t make it in time and was clipped by a vehicle.
“At the very least, without a crossing there, we need lighting and a 50mph limit until the park and ride is built, so the schoolkids can get dropped off there rather than at the side of a busy main road.”
A PSNI spokesperson confirmed the collision involved a school pupil, who sustained a “minor injury”.
A spokesperson for the NI Ambulance Service (NIAS) said paramedics received a 999 call shortly after 6pm.
The Department for Infrastructure was contacted for comment.