Mother relives moment her son knocked her car into gear before it sped down a hill and into a home

An eight-year-old boy has narrowly escaped tragedy after he knocked his mother’s car into gear, raced across a busy suburban street and ploughed into the front of a neighbour’s home.

Jackson Smith was searching for his mouthguard in the family sedan on Friday when he accidentally knocked the vehicle’s gearstick.

Within seconds – and despite the fact the handbrake was engaged – the Ford Falcon was rolling down the driveway of the Smith’s Newport home on Sydney’s northern beaches, picking up speed as it approached Seaview Road.

‘He wasn’t even gone a minute and I heard the crunching of gears,’ Jackson’s mother, Lisa Smith (pictured) recalled

‘He wasn’t even gone a minute and I heard the crunching of gears,’ Jackson’s mother, Lisa Smith, told Nine News.

The car sped across both lanes of the road, flying up and over an embankment on the other side and crashing into a unit block. 

‘I saw the car disappearing down into the units,’ recalls Ms Smith, who watched the incident unfold from the balcony. 

‘As soon as the residents came running out I screamed, ‘Is my son in the car?’

Jackson walked away from the incident without injury – much to the surprise of neighbours who witnessed the crash, and the relief of his mother

Jackson walked away from the incident without injury – much to the surprise of neighbours who witnessed the crash, and the relief of his mother.

‘We’re just really lucky that he’s still here with us,’ Ms Smith said. 

‘I’m just so glad there wasn’t any horrendous collisions because that would’ve been marked in my mind forever.’