Boy in China slaps 2-year-old brother, sending him into path of oncoming car

Siblings — we love to hate them.

But one boy in China took sibling rivalry to a dangerous level when he hit his two-year-old brother straight into the path of an oncoming car, leaving the toddler trapped under the vehicle.

Local police confirmed in a Weibo post that the incident happened in Tongren city, Guizhou on Oct 6.

CCTV footage of the incident showed the two boys, who remain unnamed, walking on the road shoulder, dangerously close to oncoming traffic.

The older boy then turned and slapped the toddler in the face, sending the latter stumbling into the path of a red sedan.

Although the sedan braked almost immediately, the toddler had already collided with it and gotten trapped under the car.

The older boy rushed to his brother's aid but could not pull him out.

Several on-duty police officers who happened to be nearby lifted the car up with help from a few passers-by and extricated the boy within one minute.

Police said that the toddler was taken to the hospital for a check-up and was lucky to walk away with just a few abrasions on his forehead.

While friction between siblings is unavoidable, experts say parents should be concerned about bullying within the family as it can lead to physical and mental health problems.

According to Stevie Grassetti, a psychologist at West Chester University in Pennsylvania, "Parents should talk to their children about their values and expectations and help guide children into interacting with siblings in prosocial ways."

kimberlylim@asiaone.com