A 3-year-old girl is fighting for her life after suffering severe injuries when she was struck by a vehicle inside a Roma settlement in Zephyri, a suburb west of Athens. According to information, the child is being treated in critical condition in the intensive care unit at Aglaia Kyriakou Children’s Hospital.
The tragic incident has once again brought attention to the difficult living conditions faced by children in such settlements across Western Attica. “The Smile of the Child”, one of Greece’s leading child welfare organizations, revealed that it had previously alerted the relevant authorities to cases of child neglect and abandonment in the area.
According to information available so far, on the night of the accident the little girl was alone behind a vehicle being driven by a 31-year-old man. Unaware of the child’s presence, the driver reversed the vehicle and struck her, causing serious injuries.
Police are currently searching for the child’s parents as part of an expedited legal procedure related to the neglect of a minor. According to reports, two days after the incident, neither parent had appeared at the hospital where the 3-year-old remains hospitalized.
The Smile of the Child stressed that if the necessary protective measures had been taken in a timely manner by the responsible authorities, similar incidents might potentially have been prevented.
