A coroner's report has revealed new details of a 13-year-old's death in 2019.
Joshua Mou lived with his family in Raureka, Hastings. He was about to start high school.
But "tragically", he made a "miscalculation" with fatal consequences, Coroner Robin Kay found.
Joshua was out with his friends on their bikes ahead of the January 28, 2019 accident.
The group were at the start of Te Mata Peak about 4pm when Joshua said he had to head home. He had a family event to get to.
One of Joshua's friends later told police that "Joshua seemed to be in a rush, and had said to him several times that he had to be home by 5.10pm", the report said. Joshua rode his bike west along Southampton St.
Around the same time, a woman drove a white Nissan Elgrand van north on Railway Rd.
"With the traffic lights being green, and in her favour, she drove through the intersection" with Southampton St, the report said.
"A motorist told police that he saw a cyclist, now known to be Joshua, on the footpath on the north-eastern side of the intersection, and it appeared to him that Joshua was trying to cross the road ahead of the oncoming traffic.
"He saw Joshua 'put his head down and stand up on the pedals, as though getting into that sprinting mode'."
CCTV footage shows Joshua made it across the first two lanes, ahead of oncoming traffic from the right.
As he entered the third lane, he was "almost immediately" struck by the van coming from his left.
Members of the public tried desperately to help him, covering his chest and legs with towels and a jacket. They used a towel to apply pressure to a chest wound, the report said, adding Joshua "was clearly very seriously injured".
Ambulance officers commenced CPR as Joshua was in shock due to a loss of blood.
He died at Hawke's Bay Hospital at 10.55am the next morning with his family present.
The coroner's findings
Coroner Kay concluded that Joshua died of traumatic shock and severe brain injury due to trauma.
The report stated no environmental factors or faults with the bike or van played any part.
"The traffic lights at the intersection were green in the direction that [the woman] was travelling (and they would have been red for Joshua)," the Coroner said, noting "there was no evidence to indicate that the van was speeding".
The van driver could not avoid colliding with Joshua, the report added.
"I believe that Joshua rode as he did because he was rushing home for the family event that evening," the coroner said.
"It appears that he likely saw the van but mistakenly believed that if he cycled faster, he could safely cross the road ahead of the traffic.
"Tragically, Joshua was mistaken, and his miscalculation had fatal consequences for him."
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