Taranaki police are appealing to the public for information as they try to establish if an elderly man who died on Sunday night was hit by a vehicle.
Brian Davis, 79, left Mercy Jenkins Rest Home on Maata Rd, Eltham, with another elderly male resident on Sunday evening. Both men
were believed to have been suffering from dementia.
The ambulance service was called after the men were found on State Highway Three, north of Eltham.
Mr Davis was lying on the ground and died on arrival at Taranaki Base Hospital of a suspected heart attack.
However, a post-mortem examination subsequently revealed he had died as a result of multiple fractures.
Detective Senior Sergeant Keith Borrell said: "It was dark and it was raining, and it appears at this stage that Mr Davis may have been struck by a vehicle.
"We want to speak to anyone who saw these men between 6pm and 7.45pm on Sunday in the Eltham area or saw what happened to cause these injuries."
Mr Davis' companion has been returned to the rest home.
Mr Davis was wearing a black and grey checked, long-sleeved shirt, blue track pants and tan Ugg boots. The other man is described as tall, mildly overweight, and was wearing dark track pants and a red and blue woollen shirt.
