A pedestrian killed when a truck rolled across three intersections in central Dunedin has been named.

Connor Harley Latty, 20, died at the scene when he was hit by a runaway truck in Police St near the intersection with Crawford St (State Highway 1) about 7.55am on Friday.

The truck struck Latty before hitting several cars, the spokesman said.

Latty was understood to be on the way to his work at Repco when he was hit.

In a death notice published in today’s Otago Daily Times, Latty’s family paid tribute to him.

“Words cannot express the heartache we feel that Connor didn’t have time to follow his dreams.

“No truer words have been said.”

The notice goes on to say that Latty’s family went beyond his blood relatives.

“Thoughts of Connor will always bring beautiful memories and smiles to family and friends.”

Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond, of Dunedin, said the investigation into the crash was continuing.

The commercial vehicle safety team, along with the serious crash unit, attended the scene on Friday and the crash had been referred to WorkSafe.

“Now it is a case of reviewing all the evidence before a decision is made about the outcome.”

A witness said the driver was not in the truck at the time of the incident, but appeared to be talking to mechanics at an auto parts store in Carroll St when the truck began to move.

He yelled an expletive as the vehicle started to careen down the hill. It appeared to hit a building before smashing into a car, the witness said.

Damage could be seen to the side of the Forno’s Auction House building in Police St.

Images from the scene suggest the pedestrian had been walking in Police St, between Princes and Bond Sts.

A badly damaged white Subaru was nearby and appeared to have been spun around by the force of the truck.

Across Crawford St, a red hatchback appeared to have been wedged underneath a black SUV by the force of the truck coming to a stop.

A witness who came across the scene shortly afterwards said the incident was “pretty crazy” and it was heartbreaking a person had died.

Cars were piled up on top of each other in Police St, between Crawford and Vogel Sts.