Kurri Kurri: Edward John Gordon killed after being hit by truck on Lang Street
Edward “uncle Pete” Gordon was on his morning walk in Kurri Kurri and never returned for his usual cup of coffee with his neighbour after he was hit and killed by a truck. Police are investigating.
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A neighbour has paid tribute to a “loyal friend” of more than 30 years after he was hit and killed by a truck in the Hunter region on Wednesday.
Edward John Gordon — aged in his 70s — affectionately known as “uncle Pete”, was out for a morning walk at around 7am in Kurri Kurri, when he was struck down by a delivery truck as he tried to cross to the other side of Lang St.
Passers bys, including an aged care nurse, came to his aid and administered CPR, but he was unable to be revived and died at the scene.
His neighbour — who preferred not to be named — told The Newcastle News he had known “uncle Pete” since 1984 and was very fond of him.
“He was a good bloke. He was my mate,” he said.
“He was my young bloke’s godfather. He would do anything for anyone.”
He said the retired BHP worker who lived alone, would go for a walk each morning and then stop in for a coffee afterwards for a chat.
“We would of had a cup of coffee when he came back but he never returned,” the neighbour said.
A woman — who lives just across from where the crash happened — said she heard a “huge bang” just as she was getting out of the shower.
“I rushed out to the front and there was only one guy on scene who went to help the man who was lying on the street,” Barbara said.
“There was blood everywhere so I rushed to get some towels. His shoes had also come off and were about six to eight metres away.
“Then a nurse came and took over and started CPR when he stopped breathing.”
She praised the work of those who came to the man’s aid so quickly before paramedics arrived.
“It was awesome how people stepped in and helped,” she said.
“A man in a skip bin truck stopped and helped to block off traffic too.”
Lang St was closed for a number of hours as a crime scene was established, with the crash investigation unit looking into the circumstances surrounding the collision.
The male driver of the truck was taken to Maitland Hospital for mandatory blood and urine testing.
Chief Inspector from Cessnock Police Michael Gorman said police are looking at a number of avenues as to why the fatal crash occurred.
“Around sunrise there was an amount of fog around the area, we believe the road conditions were damp, but there was light traffic and good visibility,” Inspector Gorman said.
“Being a straight road, with good visibility and a wide road, we’re not sure why the collision has occurred.
“We’re not ruling out anything at this point in time.
“Message is to be attentive, whether it be to pedestrians, other road users and pay attention all the time because things can happen.”
Anyone who may have witnessed the incident, or who may have dashcam vision, is urged to contact police.
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report crime via NSW Police social media pages.