Driver flees as boy hurled from crash car

Police are hunting a car driver who fled from the scene of an accident in which two of his passengers, including a two-year-old boy, suffered critical injuries.

The boy was thrown clear of the wreckage and was today in Great Ormond Street hospital, where he was said to be "gravely ill". His father was also critically injured.

A man and a woman in a second car were left seriously hurt.

Police believe a red Ford Sierra was travelling at up to 80mph when it crashed and split in two in Mitcham, south London, at 12.15 this morning.

Pc Geoff Page, of the Met's accident investigation unit, said the Sierra had been travelling along Bishopsford Road when the driver lost control on a bend and collided with a bridge parapet.

The car spun backwards into the path of a Rover Metro and split in two, spilling the passengers into the road. The two halves ended up 30 yards apart. The driver, a white man believed to be a friend of the male passenger, ran from the scene apparently unhurt.

Pc Page said: "In my 15 years as an accident investigator this is the most disgusting and callous thing I have come across. The driver was going so fast the car split in two and travelled a substantial distance.

"The car was travelling north on the single carriageway at very high speed when it mounted the kerb and hit the bridge over the River Wandle.

"The bridge was badly damaged by the impact and is being looked at by a surveyor. The speed of the vehicle was the primary cause of the crash.

"The car spun around and travelled backwards into oncoming traffic. At some point the vehicle split in two. The front and back are separated into two similar sized pieces - something I've only ever seen once before.

"The car travelled a considerable distance after it hit the bridge. The boy and his father were thrown from the car. We do not know where they were sitting in the car or if they were strapped in.

"The rear section of the car then hit a Mini Metro travelling in the opposite direction. A man and a woman in the car are in a serious but stable condition."

Police said the driver of the Sierra was also the owner of the vehicle and lives in Mitcham.

Pc Page added: "We know that the driver knew the father and son but we do not know their exact relationship to each other. They are not relatives."

Police are appealing to witnesses to the accident and anyone with information should contact police on 020 8247 6935.