Bayswater: 52-year-old killed in ‘horrific’ incident was contracted for maintenance on new Metronet station

A man who died after being hit by a machete-wielding driver was working for a Metronet sub-contractor to do maintenance on the new Bayswater station, it can be revealed. The West Australian has confirmed the 52-year-old man who was critically injured during a violent rampage on Tuesday was an employee of a contractor tasked with maintenance and fixing defects in the area around the Metronet site. It is understood the man was working when he was struck by a silver Holden Commodore on Rose Avenue. His shocked co-workers and other contractors working at the location were the first to attend to his critical injuries before he died at Royal Perth Hospital. The alleged driver of the Commodore, a man in his 30s, was taken into custody after crashing his car into a light pole — moments after he struck the 52-year-old. Two young children, believed to be aged under two, were in the car at the time but were “thankfully unharmed”, police said. CFMEU WA president Mick Buchan extended the union’s “heartfelt condolences to the person’s family” after the tragic incident. Mr Buchan said the man’s workplace had taken all their workers off various sites as a result of the tragedy, with workers being provided with counselling on Wednesday. It is understood traffic controllers and plumbers were some of the tradies working in the area at the time. Transport Minister Rita Saffioti described vision of the incident as “horrific”. “It was just beyond imagination that people can just be going about their daily business and have that happen,” she said. “It is tragic, and my thoughts go out to the family of the person who was unfortunately killed and, of course, all those who had to experience what would have been a confronting, awful thing happening.” Mr Buchan said workers who witnessed the incident were “in shock” as a result of the death and that the union was on standby to assist where needed. The incident started about 11am after police were called to reports the driver of a Commodore was “acting erratically” and “potentially armed with a knife”. Police said the driver was involved in a crash with a Ford Ranger on Skew Road before getting out of the car with a knife moments before he fatally struck the worker on Rose Avenue. Resident Wayne Small said the erratic driver waved a machete at the driver of the Ford Ranger before slashing all four of the vehicle’s tyres. “He’s banging his machete on the driver’s window saying, ‘I’m gonna kill you’,” Mr Small described. “He went around and stabbed all the four tyres so he couldn’t leave. “He got back into his car, into his Commodore, and just took off.” Another tradesman working in the area, Victor Oganov, claimed the erratic driver also threatened his co-workers with the knife. “He jumped out of the car and had a knife .. it was a big one, from the tip of your finger to your elbow (in length),” he said. “He took a step towards us … we would defend ourselves if it was necessary. It was very bizarre. Police were continuing their investigation on Wednesday, with WA Police Inspector Jason Van Der Ende previously stating the matter was “complex and will take some time to investigate fully”. “We have many policing units involved, including specialist investigators from the Major Crime division who are working tirelessly to get some answers,” he said on Tuesday. No charges had been laid on Wednesday morning. The driver is continuing to assist police with their investigation. The incident comes months after Metronet worker Fengwen Geng was fatally run over by a car while napping in Halliday Park – adjacent to Bayswater Station – on March 14. The Chinese national was on his lunch break midway through a 10-hour shift at the time of his death.