A pedestrian who saw an elderly man fatally struck by a cyclist on Melbourne's St Kilda waterfront strip had seen a similar incident at the same spot a year earlier.
Norman MacKenzie, 85, was walking along a Jacka Boulevard pedestrian crossing when hit by a cyclist riding in the bike lane on April 18, 2017.
Mr MacKenzie, who had been walking his Staffordshire bull terrier puppy at the time, died in hospital later that night from head injuries.
An inquest into his death began on Tuesday, with multiple witnesses providing conflicting accounts of what colour the pedestrian and traffic lights were at the time of the collision.
Filip Stoimenov told coroner Darren Bracken he was waiting at the lights opposite Mr MacKenzie and saw the man and his dog cross the road while the pedestrian lights were red.
"He looked to his left to see if there were any approaching cars and that's when he decided to go ahead and try to cross," he said.
"I assumed he was safe but as soon as he stepped into the cyclist lane he got hit."
Mr Stoimenov said he did not see or hear the bike coming until it was too late.
He said it reminded him of a similar accident he witnessed at the intersection between a cyclist and pedestrian during the summer of 2016/17.
"I was standing in the same spot on my way to the gym. It wasn't fatal but it was pretty bad," he said.
Another witness who was driving at the time described the "loud bang" she heard as Mr MacKenzie and cyclist Jarel Remick collided.
"The violent sound of the impact shocked me and made me realise how heavy the collision was. I could also hear nearby pedestrians yelling in shock," Anthea Kane said.
Mr Remick has not been charged over the collision.
His racing bike was fitted with a Garmin GPS cycling computer which was recording data at the time of the crash.
Counsel assisting the coroner Duncan McKenzie said if VicRoads data and the GPS data line up, the pedestrian lights would have been red for 74 seconds when Mr Mackenzie was hit and the traffic lights would have been green for 71 seconds.
The inquest is due to hear from Mr Remick, crash investigators and a forensic pathologist on Wednesday.
Australian Associated Press
