KEY POINTS:
A 20-year-old man killed by a car as he lay on a road on the outskirts of Matamata had been warned by police only nights before that he was endangering himself by walking on the road.
John Mati Ford, a labourer, was lying in the northbound lane of Waharoa Rd East when he was hit by the car on Saturday night.
Police said he had been drinking with friends in Matamata before he began walking the 5km home to Waharoa.
Mr Ford was struck and killed at 9.30pm after making it about 500m from the intersection of Rawhiti Rd and Waharoa Rd East, which runs parallel to State Highway 27 and is often used by Waharoa locals to walk or hitch-hike home.
It is unknown why he was lying on the road, but police said his death was "a tragedy that could have been avoided".
Mr Ford's whanau were too upset to comment when approached by the Herald at their home in Waharoa yesterday.
Detective Sergeant Rod Carpinter of Matamata-Piako CIB said Mr Ford had been seen walking on the same road, in a lane, on Thursday at 9pm.
"He was spoken to by police about how dangerous his actions were to his own safety," Mr Carpinter said.
Mr Ford was wearing the same clothes on Saturday night as on Thursday which was how police identified his body.
Early reports said the incident was a hit-and-run, but Mr Carpinter said those reports were incorrect.
He said the driver of the car had no cell phone and returned to Matamata to call police while, in the meantime, Mr Ford's body was found by the occupants of another vehicle.
A post mortem examination was to be carried out today which police hoped would shed more light on the 20-year-old's condition before he lay down on the road.
They wanted to hear from anyone who had seen him walking, stumbling or lying on Waharoa Rd East, near the New World supermarket, about 9pm.
The road changes from a 50km/h zone to 100km/h zone just north of the supermarket, in the spot where Mr Ford was hit.
A cordon remained in place yesterday morning as the Waikato serious crash unit carried out an initial investigation and firefighters cleaned the road.
Local resident Margaret Broomfield told the Herald many Waharoa people hitch-hiked home along the road at night, particularly after closing time at the Matamata pubs.
Mr Carpinter also said the road was a "common accessway" for them and had been "an accident waiting to happen" because there was no lighting or footpath in the 100km/h zone, and they tended to walk on the road.
Neither speed nor alcohol were factors for the male driver who hit Mr Ford.
Mr Carpinter said he had been "completely co-operative" and was unlikely to face charges.
"It's a pity the degree of co-operation shown in this case wasn't the same as another case we're investigating, the death of Regan O'Donoghue," he said.
Eighteen-year-old Regan was struck by a green stationwagon as he walked home from a party at Elstow Hall, west of Te Aroha, on July 1.
The stationwagon failed to stop and police believe those in the car knew they had hit and killed someone.
The vehicle and its occupants have not been found, despite police believing they attended the same party as Regan that night.
Mr Carpinter again appealed for them to come forward.
