'She looked hesitant to run out onto the road' - man witnesses woman's death

The 82-year-old died after arriving at hospital. Police say it's too soon to say if any charges will be laid.

A truck driver has recalled the moment an elderly woman was hit and killed by a car as she crossed a busy North Shore road.

Thomas Swarts said he was waiting to turn into Forest Hill Rd just before 6pm yesterday when he saw what looked like a teenager run across the road before stopping on a median strip.

"Basically it was just general peak traffic and everyone was rushing everywhere. I was trying to turn right onto Forest Hill Drive.

"At the time it honestly looked to me like a teenager and she was running across the road and a van stopped for her. It looked like one of those hesitant movements, running forward, running backward."

Noticing the Toyota Hiace van had stopped for her, the woman then ran. However, she failed to see a Toyota Yaris that was travelling in the lane next to the van.

"She didn't see the car coming next to the van and ran straight in front of the Yaris. The van stopped but she ran and it was in a blind spot and obviously she didn't see the car coming in the second lane."

Swarts said it didn't look like the woman driver of the Yaris was speeding, it was just a tragic accident.

"[She was standing] in the middle of the road, there's no pedestrian crossing or anything like that. There's almost like a centre-island section, it's like a space that you can walk on, but it's not a dedicated pedestrian crossing, which is a bit of an issue in that area of having a play park for kids right across the road from it."

He said the driver of the Yaris got out of the car immediately to tend to the victim. Swarts said he immediately jumped on the phone and called for an ambulance.

"I was driving a truck at the time so couldn't stop and if I did I would have caused more traffic than anything else, so I just phoned the ambulance straight away and then had to carry on driving."

Detective Senior Sergeant Jason McIntosh said the Serious Crash Unit investigation into the incident, at the intersection of Blakeborough Drive and Forrest Hill Rd, is continuing.

He confirmed the driver had stopped and was co-operating with police.

"It is too early for police to speculate on what, if any, charges will be laid in relation to this matter.

"The deceased was an 82-year-old woman. We are still in the process of notifying next of kin so are not in a position to release her name."