Finding into death of Con Panagiotou

76y · Male·Traumatic head, ribs, pelvic and spinal injuries sustained in a motor vehicle incident (pedestrian)

A 76-year-old man with schizophrenia, depression, Klinefelter syndrome, and poorly controlled diabetes was struck by a car as a pedestrian on 19 December 2024 while crossing Middleborough Road in Box Hill South outside a designated pedestrian crossing. He sustained traumatic head, spinal, pelvic, and rib injuries and was admitted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in intensive care. He underwent neurosurgery for intracranial haemorrhage monitoring and bilateral pelvic surgery but showed poor neurological recovery. After discussion with family, he was extubated and transitioned to comfort care on 30 December 2024, dying on 1 January 2025. The coroner found the death was the unintended consequence of the deceased's deliberate action to cross the road, with no prevention opportunities identified and no fault attributed to the driver or treating clinicians.