![Leonia Picone](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/world-news/2023/08/31/TELEMMGLPICT000347426832_16934880782180_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqbRukNOMgWocxwK13grIL7uhcE5ih6XehQbGLN9_Lsgc.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Mother mowed down by lorry as she taught son to drive
The woman, 55, was killed in Sydney, Australia after she pulled over to get the HGV driver’s attention after he reportedly hit their car
![Leonia Picone](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/world-news/2023/08/31/TELEMMGLPICT000347426832_16934880782180_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqbRukNOMgWocxwK13grIL7uhcE5ih6XehQbGLN9_Lsgc.jpeg?imwidth=680)
A mother who was giving a driving lesson to her teenage son was mowed down and killed by an HGV after confronting the driver for hitting their car.
Leonia Picone, 55, and her 17-year-old son pulled over to speak to the lorry driver after he allegedly bumped into the rear of their Ford Mondeo in Sydney, Australia.
Footage of the incident showed Ms Picone walking towards the nearby HGV while it sat stationary and its driver remained in his cab.
She was then seen waving her arms to attract the driver’s attention as she moved in front of the lorry.
Her son also approached the side of the vehicle, which subsequently sped forward, hitting Ms Picone.
Paramedics who rushed to the scene of the accident in the suburb of Wetherill Park were unable to save her.
Her son, who was not hurt, was treated for shock after witnessing the incident.
The lorry driver, 51, who was not injured, was taken to hospital for mandatory urine and drug testing but was later released.
‘Absolutely horrendous’
Inspector Josh Dixon of New South Wales Police said the accident was “absolutely horrendous for the family.”
“The pedestrian was on the road attempting to get the attention of the driver of that vehicle,” he said.
Crash investigation officers will now prepare a report for the coroner.
The fatal crash sparked intense debate in Australia about culpability and whether the truck driver had not seen the single mother because of blind spots in his cab.
“If you’re directly in front of a truck, the driver will not be able to see you,” Jerome Carslake, Director of Australia’s National Road Safety Partnership Programme at Monash University’s Accident Research Centre, told Channel Seven’s Sunrise programme.
“It [the lorry] didn’t look like it had any mirrors and didn’t have any safety technology in front of the vehicle which could have activated, like a radar, which could have stopped it,” he added.
“The driver without a doubt would not have seen the mother at all.”
Local mayor Frank Carbone meanwhile described the incident as a “terrible tragedy.”
“It’s broken the heart of the community,” he told Channel Seven.