About 12.15pm, the driver of a maroon Commodore lost control of the vehicle, which mounted the kerb and hit a bus shelter and a tree before coming to rest on its side in the middle of the road.

Childcare centre employees rushed to the aid of the male driver who was taken to Tamworth Hospital with minor injuries.

The accident has prompted calls for a speed hump to be introduced on the street.

Birrelee employee Mark Jennar, who assisted the driver from the car, said speeding had become a problem on the road.

“We heard a bang and it was on its side in the middle of the road,” he said.

“I helped him out of the car and pushed it enough to free him.

“Everyone here has been campaigning for a speed bump to slow cars down.

“One particular ute flew through here at over 100km/h.

“Public schools have 40km/h zones, why not pre-schools?”

Birrelee employees Sam Cotter and Susanne Bissett were about to have a cigarette break at the bus shelter, just before it was hit by the car.

They told The Leader they believed a sudden “twist of fate” had saved them from being hit.

“Susanne saved me,” she said.

“I was going to go across the road and have a smoke and she said to wait and she’d come with me.

“We got to the driveway and then it all happened.

“The driver had no control of the vehicle and then hit the bus shelter and the tree and then it flipped.”

Ms Cotter said speeding cars had often posed a safety risk to centre employees, parents and children when crossing the road.

“We’re in the yard a lot here and even from there you can see the cars flying up the road.

“It’s only because it’s quite a long stretch of road.

“We’ve called police before and given out number plates of speeding cars.”

Mrs Bissett said an accident on the road had been a long time coming.

“Something was bound to happen,” she said.

“We need a speed hump on the road, it’s really bad. What if the car had come through the fence here?”