The young girl was flown to Trondheim's St. Olav's Hospital by air ambulance on Tuesday evening. According to local policeman Dagfinn Herskedal at Hitra, the five-year-old was in great pain after scrapes and broken bones, but was conscious when taken to hospital.
A report from St. Olav's Tuesday night signaled that the girl was in stable condition with minor injuries.
Deputy Arild Sollie said the girl had a guardian angel, and explained the incredible sequence of events leading up to the accident.
"The five-year-old girl was playing on a swing set in the courtyard. Meanwhile, her three-year-old brother went into the house, cleared off the shoe rack and used it to climb up to the key cupboard where the car keys are kept," Sollie said.
"Then he went and sat behind the wheel, started the engine and managed to drive forward 7-10 meters. The car drove over the swing set where the girl was sitting and his sister was left clamped under the car," Sollie said. "The swing set was crushed under the car where the girl lay, but there was soft earth where it happened and maybe the girl was pressed into the soft ground."
The car was parked in first gear when the three-year-old entered and managed to start the ignition.
"This is very unusual but it has happened before. Total prevention of accidents like this is hard to guarantee," Herskedal said.
