Elderly man killed by reversing garbage truck in Perth's Queens Park

A 70-year-old man who was run over and killed by a reversing garbage truck in Perth has been described by friends and neighbours as a quiet, sweet man who walked slowly after suffering a stroke a few years ago.

CCTV footage shows him walking down Balaka Way in Queens Park at 8.45am this morning when the truck backed into him, knocking him down.

Within 10 minutes, an ambulance arrived, quickly followed by a police car and then fire trucks.

Police confirmed the man suffered critical injuries and was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital, but he could not be saved.

Lily Chien, a friend of the man's family from church, translated from Mandarin for his distraught wife.

She said his wife had been preparing to go to English language classes in the city when she looked out the window and saw her husband on the ground.

"On the way she saw her husband on the floor, she found him lying there and bleeding, I think, on the floor," Ms Chien said.

The couple had been married for 35 years, with two daughters who live in Beijing.

"Recently he seldom goes to church. [He's] just a quiet person," Ms Chien said.

"His wife told me he recently [he] just liked walking in the back-yard, not going out.

Ms Chien said the man walked slowly after he suffered a stroke a few years ago.

Asked how the man's wife was coping, Ms Chien said her faith was helping.

"At the moment, I think she is upset," she said.

"But because we are Christians, we believe we will see each other in heaven."

Road unfinished

Locals explained Balaka Way was an unfinished cul-de-sac, with a development site at the end, so there was no room for trucks to turn around.

The deceased man was well known in the street by residents who said they saw him regularly going for morning and afternoon walks.

Yuksel Terzi lives on the street, and heard a bang.

"It was around 8.40am. I heard a loud sort of bang-ish noise. And then a few minutes later the cops knocked on the door to see if we've got any footage of the situation," he said.

"It's heartbreaking, not easy because it's someone you see almost every morning when he's walking around trying to look after himself."

Mr Terzi's daughter Neslihan said she also heard the bang while getting ready to go to university.

"It's very sad, you know, because I always see him when I leave the house," she said.

"[He] always waves at me, he was a sweet man and [he] also took care of my cat a lot."

The 59-year-old man driving the garbage truck was not injured.

"On his behalf, it would be shocking," Mr Terzi said.

"So I don't know how he's going to cope with that."

Major Crash officers are investigating and are appealing for any witnesses.