Wellington police investigate ‘significant accident scene’ after pedestrian was struck and killed on bus

Police completed examination of a “fairly significant” accident scene after a pedestrian was struck by a bus and killed in downtown Wellington last night.

Emergency services were called to Taranaki St just before 10 p.m. Saturday after the pedestrian was fatally hit by a bus.

Laces were placed and motorists were asked to avoid the Taranaki St area between Ghuznee St and Bidwill St.

Police spent the night examining the scene and the road did not reopen until shortly after 7 a.m. this morning.

A police spokesman said it was a “fairly significant” accident scene in terms of the size of the area and that it took some time to process.

No further examinations of the scene will be conducted today and the general investigation of the accident will continue, the spokesman said.

A spokesperson for the Greater Wellington Regional Council confirmed that the vehicle involved was a Metlink bus, but said they could not provide further details as the matter was in the hands of the police.

The death comes a decade after 40-year-old runner Venessa Ann Green was seriously injured when she ran in front of a bus on Willis St in downtown Wellington on June 28, 2011.

He died in Wellington Hospital the next day.

In 2015, the coroner recommended Wellington City Council commission a new security audit of the Golden Mile, which runs along Wellington’s financial district along Lambton Quay, Willis St and up to Courtenay Place, and from the pedestrians, motorists, cyclists and other people who used it.

It would end up being the third security audit of the area.

Manners St, in particular, has developed a notorious reputation among pedestrians who are hit by buses.

In July 2019, a pedestrian was hit by a double-decker bus on Manners St in the middle of the day.

The person was seriously injured.

There had been 16 such incidents on Manners St in the previous decade.

In 2010, Manners Mall was restored to a highway in the form of a two-way bus route.

When the change was made, it was touted as an integral part of a broader plan to improve transportation in the region, not only improving travel times for commuters but also reducing bus congestion in the CBD.