Hunter Dew: Mum’s warning after toddler was hit by a car 

A heartbroken mum has recalled the horrifying moment her toddler died after being hit by a car on a busy main road.  

Hunter Dew was killed on Easter Sunday in 2012 after running onto Port Elliot Road in South Australia and was struck by an oncoming vehicle and dragged a few metres. 

Mum Renee Cooper, now 41, sprinted to her little boy and screamed at the driver to call an ambulance. 

Minutes before, the loving, energetic boy and his family were enjoying time together feeding ducks at Lakala Reserve and were on their way home.  

Now Ms Cooper is an a mission to keep the lives of children safe by advocating for safer road restrictions and calling on people to think twice about their driving. 

Little Hunter Dew tragically died on Easter Sunday in 2012 after running onto Port Elliot Road in South Australia and was struck by an oncoming vehicle and dragged a few metres. Ms Cooper, now 41, sprinted to her little boy and screamed at the driver to call an ambulance

‘It happened in a split second. I yelled telling him to stop but it happened so fast,’ Ms Cooper said.

‘I saw it all. He was hit and dragged up the road under the car because his hoodie got stuck on the front license plate. 

‘I remember running onto the road to him, just collapsed to the ground and sat beside him. My clothes were completely drenched in his blood.’ 

The driver got out of the car and Ms Cooper screamed at him to call an ambulance. 

Paramedics nearby rushed to the devastating scene and tried to work on Hunter, but unfortunately it was too late. Hunter was gone. 

The shocking scene left Ms Cooper in a ‘zombie’ state and she doesn’t recall how long paramedics were there for or who called them.  

‘It’s like living a nightmare but you feel as if you’re gonna stop breathing because your heart might stop and give in to the pain,’ she said.

‘You can’t compare losing a child to anything on Earth because it’s that painful.’ 

A funeral was held for Hunter the following week and ‘hundreds’ of people from the community joined to mourn. 

A month on it would’ve been his fifth birthday.  

A month on it would’ve been Hunter’s fifth birthday

Ms Cooper described Hunter as a ‘very loving, happy’ little boy who was ‘always full of energy’ and enjoyed playing with his siblings and cousins (pictured from left to right: Hunter with siblings Indiana, Wyatt and Madison)

At the start of Easter Sunday Ms Cooper woke up to Hunter running into her room excited to start eating chocolate. 

‘I love you mum!’ he said as he jumped on the bed, and she said it back.

‘He was excited about Easter celebrations and everything involved … flash forward to later on in the day when the kids and I decided to go to the park before it started raining,’ Ms Cooper told FEMAIL. 

Little did she know what would unfold that day would change her life forever.

‘In the spur of the moment we decided to go to the park and feed the ducks at the pond,’ she said. 

But when it started to rain Ms Cooper and her four kids sought shelter then decided to head back home.

The heartbroken mum described Hunter as a ‘very loving, happy’ little boy who was ‘always full of energy’ and enjoyed playing with his siblings and cousins. 

His favourite thing to do was dress up as Buzz Lightyear or Spiderman and had just started kindergarten.  

Ms Cooper also says the speed limit on the main road Hunter died on should reduced to 40km/h as she continues to advocate for road safety.

‘If you’re tired, drinking, on drugs or not a vigilant driver, don’t get in the car,’ she said.