Food delivery rider hit by truck becomes fifth death in three months

A food delivery rider has died after being hit by a truck in Sydney’s inner-city suburb of Redfern.

The man has become the fifth delivery cyclist to be killed in the space of just three months.

Paramedics found the cyclist dead at the scene at the intersection of Chalmers and Cleveland streets at about 6.40pm on Monday.

The truck involved in the collision was carrying an excavator, according to police.

The driver of the truck, a man in his 30s, has been taken to St Vincent’s Hospital for mandatory testing.

Police are appealing for any witnesses or anyone with dashcam video to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Only two days before, UberEats rider Bijoy Paul was hit and killed by a car in Rockdale.

Mr Paul, 27, was delivering an order from McDonald’s when he was hit at about 11am on Saturday morning.

At least three other riders have been killed since late September, including Dede Fredy, Xiaojun Chen and Chow Khai Shien.

The ‘heroes’ of the pandemic

Transport Workers’ Union national secretary Michael Kaine said the death of delivery drivers was “a tragedy and a crisis of national importance”.

“These tragedies will continue to happen until we get real action from governments across this country, to put in place standards for these riders and obligations for these companies,” he told SBS News.

"These riders have been the heroes of this pandemic, delivering to homes and businesses while they’ve been in lockdown,” he said.

“They are being treated so poorly. So poorly, that they are dying on our roads.”

Mr Kaine said the workers deserved better protection and working conditions.

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