Boy, 9, dragged behind bakkie for 2.5km

A nine-year-old boy was left critically injured after being dragged behind a bakkie for approximately 2.5km in Gauteng.

The child and his friends had apparently jumped onto the back of the vehicle at an intersection in Roodepoort on Thursday evening.

His foot got stuck in a cargo net when he tried to jump off.

Paramedics were summoned to a filling station at the Main Reef and Roode Road intersection where the bakkie driver‚ who was alerted by a passing motorist‚ stopped.

"Upon assessment‚ paramedics found that the boy had sustained serious injuries to his back and buttock‚" said ER24 spokesman Russel Meiring.

"The boy was treated for his injuries and provided with pain-relief before he was transported to Laratong Provincial Hospital.

"It is believed that the patient and his friends had jumped onto the back of the bakkie at an intersection.

"After driving some distance unaware of the children‚ the boy attempted to jump off the vehicle when his foot got caught in cargo netting.

"The driver was allegedly alerted to the boy being dragged behind his vehicle by another motorist‚” said Meiring.

The incident is under investigation by local authorities.