A Swedish man has been pronounced dead after he and a friend rode a shopping trolley into oncoming traffic in a suburb of Sydney.
Police have reported that the trolley reached estimated speeds of up to 50mph (80km/h) as it was ridden down a steep hill, before colliding with a car at around 12.20am Tuesday night.
The man who died, an international student studying at the University of New South Wales, had been riding inside the cart, before being catapulted into a roadside kerb and dying at the scene.
The other man, also native to Sweden, had been riding on the back of the trolley. Reports say that he landed in the middle of the road, and remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital.
The men, both 28-years-old, were believed to be walking home after a night out when they discovered the abandoned trolley. They boarded the cart and rode it down the hill, losing control and switching lanes, heading directly into oncoming traffic.
The car with which they collided is believed to have been traveling within the 60km/h (37mph) speed limit.
The driver of the car involved, a 45-year-old man, was not injured but has been taken to hospital for mandatory drug testing. He did provide a negative test result for alcohol at the scene.
The following warning has been issued by Detective Superintendent Gavin Dengate, local area commander for the Eastern Beaches:
If you’re on the road, particularly in the early hours of the morning, regardless of whether you’ve been drinking or not, motor vehicles do kill people.
Tragic.
