Young girl hit by car as she attempts to dash across Adelaide road

A young girl has somehow walked away with only minor injuries after stepping into the path of an oncoming car in Adelaide's north-east.

Authorities say vision of the incident, obtained by 9News, should serve as a warning to everyone about how a moment of carelessness or inattention could have dire consequences.

A mother and daughter were crossing against the lights when the "blood tingling" incident occurred.

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The mother holds her daughter's hand but then the girl makes an unexpected dash for the other side and into the path of an oncoming SUV.

"It was blood tingling. It was really, really just shocked me," local resident Vivien Wiese told 9News.

The terrifying sight captured on Lower North East Road in Dernancourt yesterday shows the girl thrown five metres by the impact.

She remained motionless for a second before being able to move, her mother ushering her to safety as witnesses rushed to help.

"I think the lady in the white [car] had sort of parked, she actually took her jacket off, and then they just laid her on that, so she wasn't just laying on dirt," Wiese said.

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"She didn't get up then at all."

Remarkably, the girl wasn't seriously injured.

She was taken to the Women's and Children's Hospital in North Adelaide with minor head and arm injuries.

It could have been so much worse, which authorities say is a point that shouldn't be lost on anyone.

"It was quite traumatic to watch," SA Police's Sean Patton told 9News.

"The driver would have had a clear vision of head and a green light, so they would have been under the assumption they were clear to proceed."

Seven pedestrians have been killed on South Australian roads so far this year and 37 more seriously injured.

"We don't go out onto the road expecting to be involved in a crash, so sometimes it can be waiting that 30 seconds or so for the lights go green to be the difference between life and death," RAA's Matthew Vertudaches told 9News.

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