It’s a parents worst nightmare and the reason why I hold my kids’ hands with a vice-grip!

A young girl is in a coma after running out onto a busy road and colliding with a van last week.

Chilling security footage shows a distressed mother screaming as her six year old daughter, Shanae Taiepa, ran out onto The Horsley Drive at Smithfield, in Sydney’s Southwest.

As reported on Yahoo!7, the little girl’s family were parked outside a doctor’s surgery when she broke free from her mother’s hand and ran between cars.

“Wait for us,” yelled her mother, before she starts screaming when Shanae is hit.

As the girl stepped out into the traffic, a white van passed in the opposite direction and collided with the child.

The child was attended to by the GP, who the family had just seen and he stayed with her until the paramedics arrived.

Shanae was unconscious and had suffered critical head injuries and and was taken to Westmead’s Children’s Hospital.

 The 55-year-old driver broke down on the sidewalk, hanging his head in his hands.

Acting Inspector Ireland said the man’s mandatory drug and alcohol tests came back negative and police do not believe he was speeding.

“The driver is extremely upset at the situation and at this stage, it doesn’t appear there’ll be any action,” he said.

Witnesses have described the scene as harrowing.

“The mother was crying… then I saw the daughter with blood on her head,” one woman told 9NEWS.

Shanae has undergone surgery and remains in an induced coma in a serious condition.

We may get commissions for purchases made using links in this post. Learn more.