A Chinese toddler was in critical condition after being thrown to the ground by a man in a row with her mother over parking space, state media said.

The man, identified only by his surname Han, wanted to park by a bus stop in Beijing, according to the Beijing Times.

He confronted the pedestrian woman when she would not move out of his way as she was attending to her two-year-old daughter.

A street stall owner who witnessed the incident said the man hit the woman before taking the toddler out of her pram, holding her up and throwing her “forcefully” to the ground.

“The baby made no noises after being dropped, not even a cry of pain,” he told the Beijing Times.

Another man got out of the car and hit the woman before driving away.

A hospital official where the child was being treated said she remained in critical condition and was receiving emergency treatment.

Police said they have arrested the man. “He was put in criminal detention on suspicion of intentional homicide on Thursday afternoon,” Xinhua news agency cited the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

He could face death penalty if the infant dies, reports said.