A driver was drunk when he ran a red light and crashed into a pedestrian, killing her on a highway in Sydney's south on Wednesday evening, police say.
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Police will allege in court that the 35-year-old driver was nearly four times over the legal blood alcohol limit when his ute crashed into the 22-year-old woman on the Princes Highway at Wolli Creek about 5.50pm.
The woman was flung several metres along the highway and suffered critical injuries.
When NSW Ambulance paramedics arrived, the woman was unconscious in the middle of the highway. They treated her at the scene before taking her to St George Hospital, where she died from her injuries overnight.
One man wrote online that he was near the crash scene at the time and heard a "loud thud, and that's it".
"No screams ... no screeching of brakes," he said.
"Just a loud thud at 5.45pm followed by a collective gasp and a woman lying on the pavement with the blue ute at a distance. People frantically tried to revive her around 5.48 pm and the police and ambulance arrived minutes later."
Another witness said the woman was waiting at the designated pedestrian island in the middle of the highway when she was struck.
"[Seeing] that poor girl lying down was heartbreaking and will take time to forget that image in my mind," he said.
Footage from the crash scene showed a blue ute, with significant damage to its front end, partially resting on the footpath in the north-bound lanes of the Princes Highway. Its bonnet was torn off, with debris scattered along the road.
A NSW Police spokeswoman said officers spoke to the driver a short distance from the crash scene.
They took him back to the crash scene, where he allegedly refused to undergo a roadside breath test.
Police arrested the man and took him to hospital, where police allege he returned a reading of .199 - nearly four times over the legal limit.
The man was taken to Kogarah police station where he was charged with aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death; dangerous driving occasioning death; negligent driving occasioning death; high-range drink-driving; driving recklessly, furiously or at a speed or manner dangerous; and not stopping at a red light.
His licence was suspended and he was refused police bail before his scheduled appearance at Sutherland Local Court on Thursday.
A number of residents from Wolli Creek placed flowers at the crash scene on Thursday morning.
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