Inquest into the death of Sophia Bolshesolsky
Deceased
Sophia Bolshesolsky
Demographics
74y, female
Date of death
2019-02-16
Finding date
2022-09-07
Cause of death
Blunt force injuries sustained when struck by a motor vehicle while crossing John Street
AI-generated summary
A 74-year-old woman was struck by a motor vehicle while crossing John Street in Lidcombe at approximately 8:30pm on 16 February 2019, sustaining fatal blunt force injuries. The coroner found the pedestrian at fault, having crossed in a dark section of road without properly looking in the direction of oncoming traffic and without using a designated crossing. The driver was travelling at the speed limit in an unlit area and had limited time to react. The coroner examined whether the NSW Police Crash Investigation Unit should have attended and concluded their non-attendance did not hamper the investigation. However, the coroner identified potential pedestrian safety issues on John Street including poor lighting, lack of marked crossings, and the need for traffic management improvements. The main clinical lesson is relevant to emergency responders: CPR and immediate trauma assessment protocols were appropriately implemented by police and ambulance officers at the scene.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Procedures
Contributing factors
- Poor street lighting in the area where pedestrian crossed
- Pedestrian wearing dark clothing
- Pedestrian crossing between streetlights in darker section of road
- Pedestrian not looking in direction of oncoming traffic while crossing
- Pedestrian crossed without using marked crossing
- Pedestrian quickened pace before crossing
- Limited reaction time for driver in low-light conditions
- Lack of pedestrian crossing facility at location
Coroner's recommendations
- Copy of findings to be sent to Cumberland City Council General Manager for consideration of safety issues in John Street for pedestrians
- Council to consider possibility of more streetlighting
- Council to consider tree pruning around streetlights
- Council to consider reduction in speed limit on John Street
- Council to consider installation of pedestrian crossing in John Street
- Council to consider installation of pedestrian island
Full text
Related cases
Source and disclaimer
This page reproduces or summarises information from publicly available findings published by Australian coroners' courts. Coronial is an independent educational resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any coronial court or government body.
Content may be incomplete, reformatted, or summarised. All court orders for redaction and non-publication are respected; documents with technically defective redaction have been excluded from the database entirely. Always refer to the original court publication for the authoritative record.
Copyright in original materials remains with the relevant government jurisdiction. AI-generated summaries and tagging are for educational purposes only, may contain inaccuracies, and must not be treated as legal documents. We welcome feedback for correction —