Paul Chitty, who lives one door away from the accident spot, said he saw the truck pull into the Turakina petrol station soon after the accident but didn't know anything untoward had happened until his dog "went crazy".
He said there was no bang, as there would have been if the truck had hit a car.
He watched as people tried to resuscitate the victim, and remembered seeing one orange sports shoe in the middle of the road.
Another Turakina resident said his teenage daughters, Alinka and Shania, had comforted the truck driver, who was "pretty distraught".
The Dave Hoskin Carriers truck was carrying offal and fully loaded, a neighbour who did not want to be named said.
Mr Chitty said the driver must have been sticking to Turakina's 70km/h speed limit or he would not have been able to pull over to the petrol station so quickly.
The Turakina stretch of SH3 was crowded with fire, police, ambulance and Serious Crash Unit officers and traffic delayed until about 1am on Tuesday morning.
There was even a house, in four pieces and loaded on trucks, that had to pass the accident scene.
The residents said two or three hitchhikers a week passed through Turakina, and the SH3/Wanganui Rd intersection was well lit at night.
They would like a 50km/h speed limit in the town. They said there were lots of close calls as drivers pulled out of the petrol station into 70km/h traffic.
"You see it all here. The traffic goes too fast, especially at night time," Mr Chitty said.
Yesterday morning Higgins contractor Alex Drover was at the scene, checking the highway for issues that could have contributed to the accident. He didn't find any.
There were still white paint marks where the man lay, and where the truck stopped, and police were interviewing witnesses.
About 11.30am Marton's Constable Brett Walford arrived with Church of England vicar the Reverend Graham Karatau, from Marton, who sprinkled a bottle of holy water and said a prayer to bless and cleanse the scene.
Police would like anyone with information about the accident to contact Constable Craig Jackson at Wanganui on 06 349 0600. If they wish to remain anonymous they could ring Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 instead.
