A 10-year-old boy left fighting for his life when he was hit by
a car has finally shown signs of recovery.

Luke Pye, from Park Wood, Maidstone, was airlifted to hospital after being struck by a vehicle in Sutton Road on Saturday afternoon. A second boy was also injured.

The pair were part of a group of five boys crossing near the
junction with Wallis Avenue.

Luke (pictured right) was in an induced coma for four
days. But the youngster has now opened his eyes and spoken a
few words to mother Jackie, who has kept a bedside vigil for her
"little fighter" since the accident.

Jackie was given an "instant facelift" when Luke uttered
the simple sentence: "Mum, can I have a drink?"

Chelsea fan Luke was left in a critical condition, with a
suspected fractured skull and a wound that stretched from his
eyebrows to his neck, after being hit by the silver Suzuki
Swift.

The Greenfields Community Primary School was flown by air
ambulance to the Royal London Hospital, where doctors put him into
an induced coma.

"i held his hand and he kept saying 'daddy, i want to go home'..." – jason pye

His father Jason Pye, 44, who stayed at home in Felderland
Drive to look after the couple's five other children, said: "He
woke up on Wednesday and asked his mum for a drink. She said it was
like an instant facelift to hear him speak. To say we are relived
is an understatement.

"When we heard what had happened, we went straight there. I held
his hand and he kept saying 'daddy, I want to go home'. I don't
know what he was doing there as he never goes outside our road.

"Hopefully he'll be back home soon. We'd like to thank everyone
for their support. We are really grateful and we know Luke will be
too."

The second injured boy was also taken to King's College
Hospital, where he stayed overnight before being transferred to a
local hospital and discharged. The three others escaped
uninjured.

Schoolboy Luke Pye was
hit by a car in Sutton Road, Maidstone

Anyone who saw the accident, at about 3.45pm, is asked to phone the serious collision unit at Kent Police on 01622 798538.