Pedestrian Seriously Injured After ute Mounts Footpath in Perth's North Beach

Onlookers have described their shock after a pedestrian was mowed down by a ute that mounted a popular coastal footpath in Perth's northern suburbs on Saturday morning. Police said the driver of the Ford Ranger lost control and collided with a car before mounting the footpath and striking the pedestrian about 11:15am on West Coast Drive, near Malcolm Street, in North Beach. The force of the collision pushed the man, aged in his 60s, over the retaining wall and into the bushes. He was taken to Royal Perth Hospital with serious injuries. Witness Mandy Thompson said she heard a loud noise as she was walking along the well-trodden footpath, which hugs the popular stretch of coastline in Perth's northern suburbs. "As I turned I saw that ute hit the electric [light] pole, which is down, and then just bounce off and come apart," she said. Vision from the scene showed the ute suffered extensive damage, while a light pole was felled and a wall was badly impacted. Ms Thompson rushed to the aid of a woman who said she could not find her husband. "We looked under the ute to make sure he wasn't there, and then realised he'd been thrown right over into the bushes, so luckily there were two doctors and a nurse that were right here. "It's shocking ... [but] it could have been worse I think." She said emergency services rushed to the scene before paramedics got the man out of the bushes and rushed him to hospital. Drivers and pedestrians were asked to steer clear of the area with lanes blocked in both directions close to where the crash happened. The incident caused traffic to bank up along the busy road, which is used by thousands of vehicles and pedestrians heading to the beaches along Perth's northern coast at the weekend. Police could be seen interviewing bystanders at the scene to piece together what happened. The driver, aged in his 40s, is helping police with their investigation. Police are asking anyone who witnessed the incident, or who has CCTV or dashcam vision of the ute in the area before the collision, to come forward. Driver killed in separate crash It comes after a 21-year-old man was killed when the car he was driving hit a tree on Orrong Road, near Kurnall Road, in Welshpool in Perth's east just before 11pm on Friday night. A 20-year-old woman passenger was taken to Royal Perth Hospital with serious injuries. Major Crash investigators are appealing for any witnesses to contact Crime Stoppers.