Kiwi lawyer Mitch East dies in suspected hit-and-run in Sydney

A law professor who taught a young New Zealand man killed in a suspected hit-and-run in Australia, has remembered his former student as someone “full of much promise and potential”.

Mitch East, 28, was hit by a car just as he stepped out of an Uber early on Sunday morning.

He died at the scene in east Sydney’s Tamarama at about 4am, the Daily Telegraph reported. Passers-by found him unconscious on Fletcher St.

The University of Otago’s Professor Andrew Geddis called his former student “an extraordinarily accomplished young lawyer”, outlining the scholarships he was offered, the high-flying positions he worked, and how he still remained humble.

“We have an idea of what we’d like the ‘New Zealand character’ to be; someone who achieves highly, is incredibly able, but at the same time doesn’t think too much of themselves. And that was Mitch. He really did capture that,” Geddis told the Herald.

“There is no doubt, academically, he was extremely able and the work he did was extremely important. Beyond that though, he was just a really nice guy.”

East completed a postgraduate degree at Harvard University in the United States. He completed his honours degree at the University of Otago.

As well as accepting the Frank Knox scholarship for Harvard, East was offered full scholarships for Cambridge University in the United Kingdom and New York University.

“I literally don’t know of any other New Zealanders who have had all three institutions offer full scholarships to them,” Geddis said.

East was working for major law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler in Australia, the Daily Telegraph said.

Before he moved to Australia, the lawyer worked as a solicitor for Meredith Connell, as a senior adviser for the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch Terrorist Attack, and as a clerk to New Zealand Supreme Court Justice Sir William Young.

“Only three or four people a year go into that role [at the Supreme Court],” Geddis said.

“He excelled – I mean, he did very, very well.”

Even with his achievements, East was still “down to earth”, Geddis said.

“What you would expect from that kind of recitation [list] of accomplishments is that he would have spent all his time in the library and would have been quite arrogant – but he just wasn’t like that.

“He was very down to earth, very easygoing, and had a very wide circle of friends. The outpouring on social media from his classmates attests to just how well-liked he was.

“There was so much promise there, and so much potential, and he was only just starting to reach it. Then this lightning bolt of fate happens. It’s really, really sad.”

East’s death left his family distraught.

Australian cops search for vehicle involved

Police are looking for a white SUV, captured on CCTV camera in the area where East was killed.

Detective Assistant Superintendent Adam Solah told the Daily Telegraph: “The family are obviously very upset and distraught, and our hearts go out to them, having to find out such difficult news”.

Police had “extensive” footage of the incident, but could not confirm whether it was a hit-and-run, the Daily Telegraph said.

The hit-and-run was a theory that was “forming part of [police’s] lines of inquiry”, Solah told the Daily Telegraph.

Police were “looking at all avenues”, he said.

“We encourage anyone who has dashcam footage or … CCTV that hasn’t been yet provided to police, we urge you to come forward and provide that footage,” Solah told the Daily Telegraph.

Solah also wanted anyone who saw East or who may have been involved in the incident to contact Bondi police or Australia’s Crimestoppers on (+64) 1800 333 000.

East was wearing a blue button-up shirt and tan-coloured shorts when he died, the Daily Telegraph said.

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.