A HUSBAND whose wife was killed during a cycling outing has described her tragic final moments after a car driven by a 79-year-old epileptic nun rammed them from behind.

Daniel Defino is demanding regulations governing older drivers be overhauled after claiming police told him the driver suffered a fit and blacked out at the wheel before ploughing into his wife Maria.

"From what I remember, I got flung forward. She was behind me," Mr Defino said.

"The first thing I obviously yelled for was Maria. I couldn't see her because she ended up under a boat (parked on the side of the street).

"She had a few breaths left in her. You could see she was fighting.

"I was just asking her to come back and not to leave me. I was asking her to stay."

The Definos, who had been married for 10 years, were on the way from their home in Rosebery to pay respects at the grave of Mr Defino's mother in Botany Cemetery at La Perouse about 10.30am last Sunday when they were run down on Bunnerong Rd, Pagewood, in Sydney's southeast.

The hatchback was being driven by a nun named Sister Ann who lives at Brigidine House, a low-care nursing home, and was with the Brigidine Sisters order. Her car travelled another 150m before she crashed into another vehicle.

Sister Ann remains in hospital receiving treatment for injuries.

Mrs Defino's family claim they were told by police the driver had epilepsy, was on medication for the condition and had suffered a seizure. No charges have been laid.

Mr Defino said elderly drivers should have to undergo regular testing with a driving instructor.

"I believe it should be similar to a P-test with an instructor actually out there with a person testing reflex and reaction times," Mr Defino said.

"It needs to be a thorough test. It's very important as well that they bring in some sort of tie-in with medical records and what medications people are on.

"We're not bullying elderly people, we're just trying to make the road safer for everybody. We just don't want to be in a situation where Maria's death is in vain."

He said Maria, 36, was due to find out on Tuesday if she was pregnant.

Above: Maria and Daniel on their wedding day in 2003.

Ruth Baldwin, who works on Bunnerong Rd, comforted the driver after the incident.

"She can't remember anything," Ms Baldwin said. "She said, 'I don't know what happened with this car'. She was very confused."

On the same weekend, a 79-year-old male driver was killed when he collided with a truck near Deniliquin and a 77-year-old woman died after her car collided with a road train at Darlington Point, south of Griffith.

Licence holders aged 75 and older are required to undergo annual medical reviews to ensure they are fit to drive. Drivers older than 85 can opt to have a modified licence or undertake a driver's test every two years to keep their unrestricted licence.

Professor Raphael Grzebieta, chairman of road safety at the Injury Risk Management Research Centre based at the University of NSW, said perception and reaction time would be "significantly reduced" in people aged in their late 70s. He said eyesight and medical assessments did not go far enough, recommending the government mandate hazard perception tests for elderly drivers.

The NSW Police Crash Investigation Unit would not comment on whether charges will be laid.

A spokesman for NSW Roads Minister Duncan Gay said a review into licensing arrangements for older drivers was under way.

A funeral for Mrs Defino will be held tomorrow and her family have asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the NSW Cancer Council, which she had strongly supported.

Donations can be made at http://nsw.cancercouncilfundraising.org.au/mariadefino



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