Police were called to the incident - in which a Mainfreight truck, which was heading south, hit a teenage pupil in Kaikorai Valley Rd near its intersection with Bryant St - at 8.56am.
It appeared the boy, understood to be 17 years old, was hit while on a pedestrian crossing, and thrown a significant distance.
The truck was dented and its windscreen was smashed in the incident.
A witness described hearing a ``large thump and the screech of brakes''.
The boy was treated at the scene by St John before being taken to hospital with moderate injuries.
A Southern DHB spokeswoman said the boy was in a stable condition yesterday evening.
The driver of the Mainfreight truck appeared shaken and was interviewed by police, while the Serious Crash Unit was at the scene.
Yesterday afternoon, several parents and caregivers waiting to pick their children up from Kaikorai Valley College said they would support traffic lights being added to the pedestrian crossing, as exist in Highgate near Columba College.
But others believed pupils simply needed to stop and look before entering a pedestrian crossing.
Pupil Rayhaan Hakik (17), a classmate of the boy hit yesterday, said he supported traffic lights being added to the busy road.
Kaikorai Valley College principal Rick Geerlofs said it was the first such incident in his six years at the school.
It served as a ``timely reminder'' for motorists to slow down near schools and for people to not automatically assume cars will stop at pedestrian crossings, he said.
``We do see cars coming through that area too fast.''
Mr Geerlofs said the pedestrian crossing where the pupil was hit had flashing signs to warn motorists pupils would be crossing in the periods before school began in the morning, and shortly after it ended.
However, they were not flashing when the pupil was hit because he had been running slightly late.
Mr Geerlofs seemed to support the idea of adding traffic lights to the crossing.
``Anything we can do to improve the protection of pupils would be helpful.''
Dunedin City Council transport engineering and road safety team leader Hjarne Poulsen said while it was ``not currently planning any improvements'' in the stretch of Kaikorai Valley Rd near the college, in light of the incident they would be reviewing the area to assess if changes were required.
``Following the accident ... we will work with the police and assess the environment to see whether any improvements are needed.''
