A school-zone crash in central Hamilton left a young girl trapped completely underneath the front of a minivan this morning.

Rescuer used airbags to quickly lift the vehicle off the child before she was loaded into an ambulance and taken to Hamilton General Hospital.  

Hamilton police Sergeant Terri-Lynn Collings said the girl’s injuries were minor and non-life-threatening.

The crash occurred just east of Sanford Avenue elementary school at the entrance to the Pinky Lewis Recreation Centre parking area just before 9 a.m.

The  girl was crossing Sanford North on her way to the school with her older sister when a minivan leaving the parking lot turning left onto Sanford, struck the girl and pinned her underneath.

Neighbours say traffic in the school zone is very busy, and that many morning commuters often use the Pinky Lewis parking lot as a shortcut between Wentworth Street North and Sanford Avenue North.