Teen playing chicken hit by 40-tonne truck (video)

Teen hit by 40-tonne truck while playing 'chicken' (video)

A boy miraculously escaped unhurt after being hit by a 40-tonne truck while playing a game of chicken.

The boy ran out in front of the HGV, which was travelling at around 45mph, in Telford, Shopshire, last October.

The incident was captured on a SmartWitness dashboard camera, and has just been released to warn kids of the dangers of playing on the road during half-term holiday.

Three boys can be seen on the grass verge at the side of the road, and two of them run across the road as the lorry approaches. But the third boy hesitates, and mistimes his 'chicken' run.

He is then hit by the truck, and can be seen rolling forward before limping off to the side of the road with a bruised ankle.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Mark Berry, international sales director at SmartWitness, said: "Obviously it was a huge relief to everyone that this lad was not more badly hurt.

"His escape is frankly remarkable given the size of the truck and the speed it was travelling at the time of the collision. He only had a badly bruised ankle."

According to the Shropshire Star and the Mirror, he added: "The driver was clearly badly shaken by the incident and immediately presented the footage to police.

"Once they had viewed the footage, it was clear that the driver was blameless and this was a game of chicken which had gone disastrously wrong.

"We have released the footage this week during half-term to show the crazy risk a very small number of youths are taking by playing chicken.

"I don't think anyone viewing the footage would ever contemplate playing chicken again."