EVERGREEN, Colo. -- A 3-year-old boy struck and dragged by a car in a Wal-Mart parking lot Saturday afternoon is expected to survive.

Evergreen Fire Rescue Chief Garry Dejong said firefighters were called to the parking lot of a Wal-Mart store at 952 Swede Gulch Road in Evergreen at around 1:40 p.m. on a report of a person being struck by a car.

A witness told 7NEWS that a woman was pulling into a parking spot in the lot when she struck the boy, who was apparently kneeling and trying to pick something up.

The woman thought she had hit some snow or ice and kept driving a short distance, dragging the boy under the car for about 9 feet, Dejong said. An off-duty firefighter and paramedic got a group of bystanders to lift the car off the boy.

Dejong said the boy was with his grandmother and other siblings when the accident happened. Dejong said the boy was airlifted out to The Children's Hospital in Aurora with injuries to his head and spine. He was listed in critical condition but doctors said he is expected to survive.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is investigating the accident. No charges have been filed.