Man who died in Brighton collision was hit by taxi

The man was taken to hospital after the crash involving a vehicle being driven along North Street in Brighton in the early hours of Saturday morning, but a police spokesman confirmed he died from his injuries.

One trader told The Argus how a Brighton and Hove licensed taxi was involved in the crash.

He said: "There was a man lying in the road. A taxi driver pulled out and looked right and left.

"He checked where he was going, but after he pulled out, he realised he had gone over something and he got out to check, but sadly the man died.

"He had pulled out of East Street and had gone around the roundabout when he'd realised he'd gone over something.

"It was a Brighton and Hove Hackney carriage driver."

Biny Amin, a sales assistant at Well Done convenience store in North Street, said the death of the man was “very sad”.

He said: "According to one of my taxi friends, the guy who was hit was asleep by the roundabout.

"He told me he tried to remove him from there but he came back and slept, and then he was hit by a taxi."

Shop workers expressed their shock at the news and said that improvements should be made along the road to make it safer.

“This road has always been busy because of the traffic. I think things should be improved for pedestrians along the road,” Biny said.

Alex Stapple, a bartender at The Fitz Regent in North Street, suggested the council should consider pedestrianising the road following the collision.

However, others who work in the area questioned how practical such a move would be, given the number of buses and other vehicles that use the road to get around the city.

Tom Corlett, a bartender at The Market Inn in Market Street, said: “It’s a main road - I don’t think they could do that as all the buses use that road.”

Tom said he saw the police cordon early on Saturday morning but was unsure what happened.

He said: “The pavements on that road do get very busy during the day and at night as well.”

Alex Warner from Clarendon Fine Art in East Street said: “I don’t think the area should be pedestrianised, because where would the buses go.”

She also said that there are a “lot of drunk and homeless people” around the area on Saturday mornings.

A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: "We were deeply saddened to hear of the tragic incident on North Street in the early hours of Saturday morning involving one of our city's taxi drivers.

"Our hearts go out first and foremost to the family and friends of the person who was fatally injured.

"It's also been a huge shock to our taxi community, and in particular the driver involved in the incident.

"We are offering support to all drivers who have been affected.

"With a police investigation ongoing, we are unable to comment further."

North Street was closed for several hours while police conducted an investigation.

Officers are appealing for witnesses, with anyone with either CCTV or dashcam footage from the area at the time asked to report it by emailing collision.appeal@sussex.police.uk, quoting Operation Longdown.