Bus kills heart patient, 82, on way to blood test

Police at the place where an elderly man was struck by a bus in Onehunga yesterday morning. Photo / Richard Robinson

An 82-year-old man was on his way to get a blood test for a heart condition when he was hit and killed by a bus yesterday morning.

Richard Washington Galvan, of Greenlane, Auckland, died in one of three fatal road accidents yesterday.

All happened after the Easter holiday road toll period ended at 6am.

In the first crash, a truck rolled off North Rd in Clevedon, South Auckland, about 7.15am, killing the driver instantly.

The road was closed between the Clevedon township and Maretai Beach Rd as police and firefighters dealt with the incident.

Then, at about 8.25am on Lower Municipal Place in Onehunga, Mr Galvan was struck by an Urban Express bus as it turned right from Church St and he crossed the road towards Diagnostic Medlab.

And last night, a 56-year-old man died on Waiheke Island after his vehicle slid off the road and hit a tree. Police said the vehicle was travelling along Te Whau Drive when it crashed at about 10pm.

The second occupant, a 16-year-old male, had moderate injuries and was being transferred to Auckland City Hospital.

The bus which hit Mr Galvan was thought to have come from New Lynn and was heading to Otahuhu and Sylvia Park.

He was taken to Auckland City Hospital and was pronounced dead about 10.30am.

Doctor Len Brake of the Onehunga Accident and Medical Centre, next to the blood laboratory, said he went outside to help after bystanders rushed into the centre to tell doctors what had happened.

"We took him some oxygen and put him in the recovery position but he wasn't conscious.

"He'd been hit on the head, he was bleeding quite a lot. I didn't see any other visible injuries."

Dr Brake said that in the retiree's pocket was a form he'd filled out to get a blood test.

He had a heart condition, and was taking the drug Warfarin, which is prescribed to people with an increased tendency for thrombosis - the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel.

Mr Galvan was a new patient at the medical centre.

The Chief executive of Pavlovich Coachlines, which runs the Urban Express service, Mike Wilson, said the bus driver had been stood down while police investigated.

"Our sympathies go out to the family ... but we won't be making any further comment as the police continue their investigation," he said.

Constable Mark Rodgers, of the Auckland serious crash unit, said the road was closed for about three hours as police made a scene examination.

The bus was taken to a compound in Otahuhu for forensic testing.

The police commercial vehicle investigations unit was also investigating, Mr Rodgers said.