A 64-year-old Adelaide man is dead after being hit by a truck overnight — the third fatality on South Australian roads over the weekend and the 16th so far his year.
Key points:
- The incident happened at Melrose Park at about 9pm on Sunday
- The man’s death was the third on SA roads over the weekend, and the 16th this year
- Police are imploring people to take more care on the roads
Police were called to South Road at Melrose Park at about 9pm on Sunday after reports of a crash between a truck and pedestrian.
The pedestrian, from Melrose Park, died at the scene.
The truck driver, a 31-year-old man from Clearview, was not physically injured.
South Road was closed for several hours, but has since reopened.
Major Crash officers are asking for anyone who witnessed the incident or anyone with dashcam footage to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
The man’s death was the 16th fatality on South Australian roads this year. This time last year, there had been four.
On Friday, police said the state had recorded its second-worst start to the year in a decade in regards to the road toll, with 13 deaths.
There have been a further three deaths over the weekend, including the pedestrian overnight.
The other people killed were a 79-year-old woman from the ACT who was driving a car that collided with a truck at Two Wells, and a 49-year-old Trott Park man who fell from his bicycle at Happy Valley.
On Friday, Assistant SA Police Commissioner Ian Parrott said distraction, including fatigue, had been responsible for at least five of the road deaths so far this year.
Commissioner Parrott said police were “imploring everybody to do the right thing on the roads”.
“The thing that concerns us the most is that of the deaths that have happened so far this year, the drivers are the people who have died, and our initial investigations indicate that they are largely at fault for their own demise,” he said.