THE driver involved in an accident in York which left an 11-year-old boy seriously injured has called for a crossing on the road where it occurred.

Joynul Miah, 18, was driving the white Ford Escort which was in collision with Sean Curtis as Sean walked home from school on Thursday afternoon.

Mr Miah has been in shock and unable to sleep since the incident in Knavesmire Road, in which Sean suffered serious leg and head injuries.

The Year Seven pupil at Millthorpe School was poorly but stable yesterday in York District Hospital. The accident occurred near the junction of Knavesmire Road and Knavesmire Crescent. Mr Miah, a car mechanic at Polar Ford at Monks Cross, said: "I am a confident driver, but that road has several blind spots because cars and coaches are parked on both sides of the road and there is no crossing for pedestrians.

"I am devastated about what has happened to the child, but I feel this is an incident that could be repeated. The next child could be killed."

Mr Miah, himself an ex-Millthorpe pupil, added: "Kids from Millthorpe, Knavesmire Primary and All Saints' use that road as a cut-through home so there should be a crossing for them to make it safer."

Clive Hylan, head teacher at Knavesmire Primary School, agreed a crossing would make the area safer for children.

"Traffic can move very fast along that stretch, and in an ideal world there should be a crossing.

"This is a terrible accident. Sean is known to us all after leaving us at the end of last term. There is a lot of concern among the parents."

Peter Whitcomb, head teacher at Millthorpe, said he had spoken to Sean's mother at York District Hospital yesterday.

"The news was that things are going the right way although he is still a very poorly child," Mr Whitcomb said.

A City of York Council spokesman said: "We cannot comment on an individual incident which, we understand, has yet to be fully investigated.

"However, as the Press recently reported, we are spending £1million on 20mph safety zones outside every primary school where appropriate, and as a council we are committed to improving conditions for cyclists and pedestrians right across the city."

- A teenager who was in collision with a car as he crossed the A169 near his Ryedale home has died.

Darren Hoggard, 16, from Lockton, suffered serious head injuries in the accident, which happened at about 7pm last Wednesday. Police are appealing for witnesses.

Updated: 10:15 Saturday, November 24, 2001