A Hobart driver with a “good driving record” who hit and killed an elderly man while he was crossing the road on a dark and stormy night last year “did not have sufficient time to avoid a collision”, a coroner’s investigation has found.
David Raymond Greenwood, 81, passed away in May 2022 on Main Road Claremont shortly after 9pm following a three-hour drinking session with his brother at the Claremont Hotel.
The pair left the hotel at 7:30pm so Greenwood could catch the 520 Metro bus to take him home to Bridgewater, which was originally meant to arrive at 7:42pm.
However, on the day of the incident, the bus did not run as scheduled and Greenwood was last seen waiting at the bus stop on the CCTV of a passing bus at 8:25pm.
Coroner Robert Webster said a witness saw Greenwood, who used a walking stick and was wearing a hi-vis jacket, crossing the road back toward the bus stop “with his face down” when he was hit by the vehicle around 30 minutes later.
“He did not stop or look up as he continued crossing the northbound lane. This indicates that between 8:25pm and the time of the collision Mr Greenwood crossed the road to the eastern side,” Webster said.
He said the reason for Greenwood crossing the road at that moment remains unclear.
“The only thing I can think of is that north of 731 Main Road, on the eastern side of the roadway, is a school and an oval. Mr Greenwood may, given he had been at the hotel drinking alcohol for 3 hours, have needed to urinate and perhaps he crossed the road for this purpose.”
The driver of the vehicle involved had spent the evening at the nearby Granada Tavern for a quiz night, where she consumed two bottles of premixed bourbon and cola along with a meal.
Coroner Webster said the woman recalled driving home within the 50 to 60km/h speed limit, amidst heavy rain and limited visibility, with her headlights on low beam when she heard a noise and then saw a “human figure moving over her windscreen from right to left”.
“Excessive speed, inattention, the use of a mobile phone and/or the consumption of drugs and/or alcohol by [the driver] did not cause or contribute to this accident,” Coroner Webster said.
“Even if she had seen Mr Greenwood then the earliest she could have seen him was when he was 21.6m away from her vehicle … she would not have had sufficient time to react, brake and avoid the collision.”
“Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant which can cause muscular incoordination, slow reaction times and visual impairment. At higher concentrations such as that found in Mr Greenwood there can be a loss of critical judgement, incoordination and reduced perception and awareness.”
“I think this fact and the appalling weather conditions led to Mr Greenwood not perceiving the presence of [the] approaching motor vehicle which has resulted in him walking out in front of her vehicle in circumstances where she has had no opportunity to avoid him.”
“I convey my sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of Mr Greenwood.”
