By Brittany Busch, Gemma Grant and Roy Ward
John Bato spent his mornings walking. On Saturday, he was doing just that when a car mounted the footpath in Melbourne’s north and ran him over.
The 63-year-old retiree, who died at the scene, had been the primary carer of his elderly mother.
John Bato (left) with brother Bill Bato. John died while walking in Epping on Saturday.
On Sunday afternoon, John’s brother, Bill Bato, and sister-in-law, Frances, visited the scene of the crash and laid flowers picked from John’s garden.
They said they were struggling to come to terms with the sudden and “senseless” death of their much-loved family member.
John, from Mill Park, was struck by a silver hatchback that ploughed through a pedestrian- crossing barrier on Dalton Road in Epping just after 10am on Saturday.
Bill Bato and wife Frances speak to the media after Bill’s brother, John Bato, was killed after a car mounted a footpath in Epping on Saturday.Credit: Nine
The driver, a 27-year-old man from Glenroy, was taken to hospital under police guard. Police are still investigating the circumstances leading up to the crash, including allegations from witnesses that the man had been driving erratically.
“He was a loving brother. Unfortunately, he passed away in circumstances no one can actually understand,” Bill Bato said on Sunday.
“Your whole family, your whole life can be turned upside down like that in a second.”
Bill said he was crushed that his brother would not be there for Christmas this year.
“He didn’t deserve that, walking as a pedestrian, as a normal pedestrian, and getting killed,” he said.
The couple laid a bouquet of the bird of paradise flower, which they said had come from John’s garden.
Frances said her brother-in-law would be sorely missed.
“He was a really kind man. He just didn’t deserve any of it,” she said.
A floral tribute for John Bato left on Dalton Road on Sunday. John’s family said the bird of paradise flowers came from his garden.
She said the two brothers had grown up close, sharing a bedroom as children.
“They were more than brothers, they were buddies,” she said.
John’s death, which Frances described as “senseless”, has left the small, tight-knit family devastated and John’s elderly mother without her primary carer.
“John was retired, and he was the one that did everything [for his mother],” Frances said.
She said John loved to walk and he filled many hours of his retirement doing so with his dog by his side.
There are several schools, a childcare centre and a Melbourne Polytechnic campus near the crash site, which were all closed for the weekend.
Police say that after hitting John, the car continued along the footpath before hitting a power pole.
The driver was freed from the wrecked car by firefighters before being taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital in a critical condition with a lower body injury.
He was later arrested and is in hospital under police guard.
Major collision investigation unit detectives are investigating the crash in Epping on Saturday morning.Credit: Nine News
Detective Sergeant Daryll Out, of the major collision investigation unit, said on Saturday that witnesses saw the car driving erratically before the crash.
“It’s frustrating because it’s totally unnecessary,” Out said.
“It’s infuriating. The senselessness of someone being killed just because they’ve gone for a walk.
“This time of year, coming up to Christmas, it’s a terrible thing for the families to hear,” he said.
Police asked that anyone who witnessed the incident or has footage of the incident to contact Crime Stoppers at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au or call 1800 333 000.
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