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Source: ONE News -
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The North Shore doctor who died in a hit-and-run may not be the first cyclist to be targeted, say police.
Graham Robinson, 62, was flung over the handlebars of his cycle on October 14. He was knocked off his bike by a white Toyota Hilux on Peak Rd, near Helensville northwest of Auckland.
Dr Robinson suffered head injuries in the incident and died the next day.
Police have taken statements from other cyclists about "similar incidents, possibly with a similar vehicle, in the immediate area", Orewa Detective Mark Palma said.
He could not rule out the possibility that the driver was targeting cyclists, the Herald on Sunday reported.
Dr Robinson's friend, Peter Kalinowski, was riding behind him when the ute hit him.
Kalinowski, also a doctor, worked frantically to keep him alive and stayed with him in the ambulance.
Chris Boberg, another friend, arrived soon after but did not see what happened.
Dr Kalinowski and Boberg returned to the scene on Wednesday to help with a police reconstruction.
Boberg told the newspaper it was hard for Dr Kalinowski to get back on his bike for the first time but he managed to reconstruct it for police three times.
Studies of the straight stretch of road showed the driver passed Dr Kalinowski before swerving into Dr Robinson and then veering away sharply without stopping, Palma said.
Dr Kalinowski was riding about 25m behind Dr Robinson and yelled a warning that a vehicle was coming, prompting Dr Robinson to move further to the left to give the vehicle more room to pass.
Palma said it was "very likely" the driver knew he had hit Dr Robinson because their studies showed the white Toyota ute immediately veered to the right after the impact.
"He has cut right in on the deceased cyclist and immediately on cutting in on him, he has veered away," he said.
He said police did not know if it was a deliberate move.
The vehicle was a white or off-white Toyota ute, possibly from the 1980s or 1990s.
Dr Robinson and his friends were training for a New Zealand Heart Foundation charity ride from North Cape to the Bluff in February to raise funds for heart research.
Before he died Dr Robinson set himself a target of raising $10,000 in the charity ride. Since his death friends, colleagues and patients had rallied to support the charity and online donations have topped $15,000.
Palma said police had been knocking on doors in the area and had been getting an "excellent" public response in their search for the driver.
He said police had searched motor vehicle ownership records for white Toyota utes and had a lot of people to interview.
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