Family's plea to hit-run killer

Flowers and a photograph on Peak Rd mark the place where the motorist fatally injured Dr Graham Robinson. Photo / Brett Phibbs

A month after North Shore doctor Graham Robinson was knocked off his bike by a hit-an-run driver, police are no closer to finding his killer.

His family and former patients are pleading with the driver of a white or cream-coloured Toyota Hilux ute who hit the 62-year-old on Peak Rd near Helensville on October 15, to come forward so they can have closure.

Dr Robinson's former practice, the Mairangi Medical Centre, where he worked for more than 20 years, has started interviewing for a replacement, colleague Kim Bannister said.

"We're suddenly short of a hard- working doctor, who was doing a lot of valuable work, and we've had to pick that up, which has upset patients as we've taken over their care."

He said the applicants knew what shoes they had to fill.

Patients and staff would be able to rest easier knowing the Toyota driver had handed himself in, Dr Bannister said.

"Every day I get five or six people asking, 'Have they got that guy yet?' I think it would be very helpful if that side of things is tidied up so people feel they don't have to worry about that side of things. It will be a step forward for everybody."

Dr Robinson's wife Lin had received "hundreds and hundreds" of cards, flowers and baking after her husband's death.

She had been unable to thank everyone so messages were being included in the medical centre's newsletter, Dr Bannister said.

Orewa Detective Mark Palma said police were still receiving calls from members of the public every day about the incident, which was positive but hadn't led to the identification of the driver.

He said the motorist probably knew he had hit a cyclist because of the amount of publicity the case had attracted.

Dr Robinson was training for a Heart Foundation charity ride in February with fellow doctor Peter Kalinowski when he was killed.

A webpage in his name had yesterday attracted donations of $21,245.

* Anyone with information on the hit-and-run should call the free helpline set up: 0508 PEAK RD (0508 732-573).