'Happy' Adelaide boy killed in hit-run

A neighbour of a two-year-old boy killed in a hit and run on a suburban Adelaide street has described him as happy and playful.

Kizze Rankine has told FiveAA radio the boy was "very active, happy, always playing" and had spent most of Sunday afternoon playing with her own son.

"He would always be picking my flowers," she said.

She said she heard a car screech at the time of the incident later in the day.

"I hear that all the time on this street, and it's really a family-orientated street. We've got a lot of kids that live along this street," she said.

"This is absolutely a tragic, tragic event."

Emergency services were called to the scene at Branksome Terrace, Dover Gardens at about 8pm on Sunday after reports a car had hit a child.

They desperately tried to save the boy but he died at the scene.

A 52-year-old man has been charged with cause death by dangerous driving and failing to stop at the scene of an accident and will face the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday.

The alleged driver was arrested at a nearby house, where the car was in the driveway.