A 10-year-old girl has died after throwing herself in the way of a runaway car in order to save the lives of two toddlers.

Kiera Larsen was playing with two young girls, aged one and two, when a nearby Mercedes Benz started rolling downhill towards the children.

Kiera is said to have instinctively pushed the girls out of the way, but the vehicle struck her and pushed her through a fence.

She was taken to hospital but died from her injuries.

The 10-year-old has since been dubbed a hero by neighbours in Lakeside California, following the accident on the afternoon of 22 February.

Alissa Jenkins, mother of one-year-old Adison and two-year-old Emma, the two girls Kiera saved, told Fox 5: “She will forever be my kids’ guardian angel.

“These are my two kids that I have and both of them could’ve been gone in an instant and she stepped in and took over and did what she knows best to do — and that’s to protect those around her.”

Police are still investigating what caused the parked Mercedes to suddenly shift into neutral and reverse down the hill.