A recently widowed elderly woman was yesterday recovering in Auckland Hospital after a hit-and-run cyclist smashed into her, leaving her lying on a busy road with a broken hip.
Remuera woman Florence Hutchins, 87, underwent a four-hour operation yesterday to replace her left hip after the crash.
Speakingto the Herald from her hospital bed just minutes before surgery, Mrs Hutchins said she was usually fit but was feeling "terrible".
"I walk every day and I'm a good walker and I'd been doing some shopping," she said of Tuesday's crash on Remuera Rd. "I was going to cross over the crossing to get some vegetables at a shop, Lums - I always get my veges and fruits there - and that's where I was aiming."
As Mrs Hutchins walked over the traffic light signal crossing outside ASB bank she was hit by a cyclist.
Cars at the scene had stopped for a red light and, as the pedestrian signal was flashing green, the cyclist came from behind the cars, crashing into her about 4.30pm on Tuesday.
"Everybody was just shocked."
Asked if she was angry at the cyclist, she said: "I don't know what I feel. I'm very upset and annoyed that I'm in this situation. I'm in terrible pain as I move.
"The ball that goes into the socket of the hip was completely smashed and they're putting in a new ball."
Making matters tougher, the crash occurred just two months after the death of her husband of 61 years, well-known photographer Tom Hutchins.
Mrs Hutchins is being looked after by her son.
Witness Michael Horton, who was walking beside Mrs Hutchins at the time of the accident, said the cyclist, who he believed was a woman, fell off her bicycle but was not injured. "She did stop for, I would say, a minute and a half. She didn't say anything and she didn't assist [Mrs Hutchins]."
Mr Horton picked up the bicycle and moved it before taking Mrs Hutchins into the ASB Bank foyer where she sat until an ambulance arrived.
Mr Horton came out of the bank to get the woman's name, but she was gone.
He said he hoped the cyclist would contact police. "There's no way she should get away with this ... it's terrible at that age."
The cyclist was in her late teens with fair hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a beanie, not a helmet, wet weather clothing and riding a black bicycle.
Senior Sergeant Danny Meade of Mt Wellington police urged anyone with information to contact police.
