Parents stop at Melbourne crash site to discover victim is their 16-year-old son

Sixteen-year-old Chris was walking home from school when tragedy struck.Heartbroken parents have shared their devastation at coming across a crash scene involving their teenage son.

Chris Antony died in hospital on Friday, one week after being hit by a car that swerved off Pound Rd as he walked home from school in Melbourne’s Narre Warren South.

In a cruel twist, Chris’s parents stopped at the crash scene moments after it happened and found their 16-year-old child unresponsive and being given CPR by another motorist.

“I said ‘Chris, do not bail on us. Chris, come back to us’,” his father Antony Francis Antonysamy told 7NEWS.

“It just broke my heart. He was in the ditch. One person was trying CPR.

“They lifted him to a stretcher. That’s when I saw bleeding in his right ear.”
Chris Antony was only five minutes away from home when he was struck by a car.
Chris Antony was hit on his way home from school by a car that left the road.
Chris suffered critical head injuries and was airlifted to hospital, but could not be saved.

“His soul was still with us in that intensive care unit and we strongly believed that he would come back (to us), until the last moment,” Antonysamy said.

The Year 11 student has been remembered by his loved ones as genuine, caring and a deeply committed Christian.

“So warm and affectionate, and he had a mesmerising smile,” Antonysamy said.

His mother Agaligai Antony described him as the perfect son.

“Whatever I say, he never says no,” she said.

Antony’s sister Auxilia said she had lost her best friend and that she realised “God had given me a built-in best friend for life”.
Chris Antony’s family members are calling for improved pedestrian safety measures after the teen was fatally struck by a car in Narre Warren South.
His family is now pleading for better protection for pedestrians along a dangerous stretch of road in Melbourne’s southeast.

Chris was just five minutes from home, a walk he’d done many times. But his parents say the footpath, so close to traffic travelling at 70km/h, needs a barrier to protect pedestrians.

“So will they wake up and do something to protect? Matter of a few thousand dollars to install those metal bars,” Antonysamy said.

The 48-year-old female driver from Narre Warren South suffered minor injuries in the crash. Police are yet to interview her before considering charges over his death.

“My quarrel isn’t really with the driver, but with understanding why it had to be him,” Auxilia said.

Antony’s close friends were able to visit him in intensive care and say their goodbyes.

“I promised him that I’m going to try and name one of my kids Chris as a tribute to my best, best brother, my friend,” Leo Soni Palahanickal said.

Friend Isindu Rajapakshe said the loss of his friend is “a huge gap that nothing else can fill in your heart”.

Antonysamy said his son would be remembered for his kindness.

“He was a faithful person. He never hurt anyone. He was extraordinarily kind and polite,” he said.

“Those are things that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.”