Woman believed to be in her 20s suffered ‘devastating’ injuries and died at the scene

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A man is on the run after fatally running over a cyclist in a stolen car on a busy Melbourne road.

The victim, a woman believed to be aged in her 20s, suffered “devastating” injuries and died at the scene.

She was hit by the white Mercedes sedan as it cut into the Chapel Street bike lane at South Yarra around 10am on Sunday.

“Today, we’ve lost the life of a young girl who was just going about a Sunday morning bicycle ride,” Inspector Stuart McGregor told reporters at the scene. “Unfortunately for her, the driver of the white Mercedes decided he was going to cut through on the left-hand side of the other vehicles and at the same time he’s collided with her and pushed her up against another car.”

The man made a run for it after bystanders helped him from the car, which was stolen last week in an aggravated burglary at Elsternwick.

Thought to be aged between his late 20s and early 30s, the motorist was last seen running from bystanders along a nearby street, sporting shoulder-length hair, a dark beard and moustache, and wearing black shoes and clothes including an Adidas tracksuit.

“This is not going to go away ... We will arrest you,” McGregor said. “You’re going to go to court, you’re going to look a lot better if you come to us.”

Police have not yet been able to contact the dead woman’s family and plan to release a photo of their suspect.