New shocking footage has emerged of the moment an elderly driver ploughed into a family with a young baby in Penrith in Sydney's west.
Speaking exclusively on tonight's A Current Affair, Andrew Leich said he would never forget the moment an out-of-control car mounted the curb of a footpath and crashed into him as he was holding his four-month-old son Hayden.
"I don't have to be reminded of it, it's more or less the first thing that comes up in my mind straight away. It just goes ‘ting’ first thing [when I wake up]," he said.
The accident happened on July 2, 2008 and is believed to have occurred when the 82-year-old driver of the car had a heart attack behind the wheel.
The driver side-swiped a car at an intersection before careening into the Leich family at 70km/h and smashing into the shopfront of local real estate agent Michael Ball's office.
Mr Leich said he reacted instinctively to protect his baby son as the car came hurtling towards them.
In the split second before the car hit, Mr Leich managed to turn slightly to shield Hayden.
"I can take the hit, that's what I was thinking, I can repair, there's no way he's gonna repair."
"So I thought if they hit the back of me, that's fixable. He's not fixable."
Mr Ball, who was inside his office at the time but escaped uninjured, said it was incredible to see Mr Leich take the brunt of the impact while still holding onto his son.
"It was amazing that he actually didn't let go of the child at all. The whole time he had his son in his arms and just didn't let go.
Hayden was unharmed in the crash and escaped without even a bruise or a scratch.
His grandparents were both rushed to hospital in a critical condition but later recovered.
The driver of the car and Mr Leich were also treated for injuries but have now made a full recovery.
Mr Leich said he felt happy every time he looked at his healthy, happy son.
"He's lucky to be here, but in a way... he wasn't meant to go that day, neither was mum, neither was dad," he said.
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