Fairy Meadow locals have pleaded with motorists to be vigilant when negotiating the heavily congested suburb after a female pedestrian was killed on Sunday.
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A 62-year-old man behind the wheel of a black Toyota Hilux was leaving the Leisure Coast fruit market around 8.30am on Sunday when he stopped in the driveway to check for traffic so he could turn left onto the Princes Highway.
It's understood a 66-year-old woman - who was walking south on the footpath towards St John Vianney Co-Cathedral for Sunday Mass - stepped out in front of the ute just as the driver, who hadn't seen her, allegedly moved forward.
Paramedics treated the woman at the scene for serious injuries but could not save her.
The driver was taken to hospital for mandatory testing, while police commenced an investigation into the fatality.
Leisure Coast co-owner Michael Braidotti, whose business can see more than 1000 cars pull into his driveway for a grocery shop on any given day, described the incident as an "absolute tragedy".
"What happened is a tragic set of circumstances where obviously there's a miscommunication between the people," he said.
Fairy Meadow locals know their suburb has traffic troubles, with heavy congestion, reckless driving, a crash hot spot on the nearby corner of Guest Avenue and pedestrians making life-and-death dashes across the road.
And it's not just confined to the highway.
Around the corner on Elliotts Road, a car ploughed into a house just last Thursday, only the latest accident on the "dangerous" stretch, according to the unlucky home owner Jenny Hilton.
"I've tragically lost count of the number of road accidents I've witnessed on Elliotts Road," Mrs Hilton told the Mercury.
"I'm incredibly worried that it's only a matter of time until there's a fatality."
On Monday, there was still broken glass and other debris on the road from a two-car crash that happened at the intersection of Cabbage Tree Lane and the Princes Highway last week.
Fairy Meadow resident Lou Sartor, who watched in disbelief as a car ran a red light there less than 24 hours after the pedestrian fatality, said the streets around his home weren't safe for vulnerable users.
"Drivers are trying to beat the lights all the time," Mr Sartor, 68, said.
"It's not amber, it's red and we see it all day, every day and it's dangerous because people start crossing on the pedestrian crossing."
His message to motorists was to be patient and show a duty of care to anyone travelling on foot.
"Please slow down and look for pedestrians," he said.
"Patience is a big thing which today no-one has ... It's all about me: I'm in a hurry. Can't you leave five minutes earlier? Just be patient because you know, you'll be held up.
"Let's look after each other."
Another resident, Lisa* said she was always on high alert when walking around Fairy Meadow.
"You have to be extremely cautious and some of the cars really don't wait," she said.
"Even when you're driving along Cabbage Tree Lane, cars don't really wait and they'll just speed up and turn (into the fruit market) while cars are coming along.
"You've also got cars flying along the Princes Highway and I don't know at what speed, but sometimes I think, oh, 'that's got to be way more than 60'.
"I don't know whether they're trying to speed through the orange light or what but they just keep flying along there."
She said there was also a problem with drivers trying to overtake other vehicles in order to avoid getting stuck behind parked cars outside the Cheesecake Shop.
On Sunday night, Lisa received a message from her brother in Sydney after he read about the Princes Highway fatality on social media.
"He texted us to check on mum and get us to remind mum, who's 70, to be very careful when she's walking," she said.
"She walks along the Princes Highway all the time and especially when you walk past Fairy Meadow Demonstration School, it's very close to the road and some of the cars are just flying.
"We always say to walk on the other side, at least the footpath there is a little bit wider because of the shops there."
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