The bereaved parents of Ryan Leo stood solemnly and bowed in unison.
"Thank you very much madam. We will never forget you," Ben Leo told Trisha Jarvis, the stranger who tried to save his six-year-old son's life after he was hit by a car in Hurstville.
Ms Jarvis told an inquest into Ryan's death that she had been collecting the ashes of her father-in-law from a funeral home on the afternoon of July 28, 2014, when she heard a strange silence on the usually busy Durham Street.
"It was suddenly very quiet and I looked out the door and I saw something which I initially thought was a bag of cement," Ms Jarvis told Glebe Coroner's Court on Monday.
"I went and I saw there was a small child lying on the road."
Ryan had been on his way to a Taekwondo lesson when he was hit by a car, and Ms Jarvis gave him CPR until paramedics arrived.
The boy's parents met Ms Jarvis for the first time at the inquest and bowed to show their gratitude.
"I am so sorry for you. I will never forget Ryan," Ms Jarvis said.
The inquest began with a slide show of photographs of Ryan as a baby in a Santa Claus suit, as a toddler at the beach, and as a young boy laughing on his father's shoulders.
The picture that marked Ryan's seventh birthday was a photograph of a small grave, covered in cards and flowers, prompting tears from many people in the room.
"He was obviously a very loving son, but also extremely loved," NSW deputy state coroner Elaine Truscott said, openly moved by the video.
In his opening address, advocate assisting the coroner Durand Welsh said Ryan and his nanny, Saiyun Shan, parked opposite the Taekwondo school about 4.40pm.
Ryan got out of the car, ran around the front, and on to the street, where he was hit by an oncoming car.
The officer in charge of the investigation, Senior Constable Robert Street, said there was no evidence the driver, Xue Ying Lin, was distracted at the time of the crash, nor that she was driving dangerously.
Constable Street said he sat down with Ms Lin on the kerb soon after the accident.
"I observed her to be shaking uncontrollably and she was crying hysterically," Constable Street said, reading from his statement.
"I said, 'Are you able to tell me what happened?' She said, 'Little boy ran out in front, and bang.'
"[She said] 'Is the boy OK? If the boy is not OK my life is over.' "
The three-day inquest will examine road safety issues in Durham Street, how Ryan got out of the car, and whether his nanny was experienced and supervising him appropriately.
