A MAN who died from head injuries suffered when he was hit by a vehicle in a York street may have already been lying in the road, says a shocked bystander.

Stuart Smith, 29, of Doncaster, who was resting in his car in Lower Friargate at the time of the tragedy, told the Evening Press that Andrew Hickox may have been prostrate between two parked cars.

Mr Smith, a charity driver, was only metres from where passers-by discovered the 42-year-old with blood pouring from wounds to his head in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The father-of-two from Elland, near Halifax, had been drinking with friends in the city before the incident. He was taken to York Hospital, but died on Thursday without ever regaining consciousness.

Mr Smith said he did not notice the man lying behind his car until his wife, Jane, returned from selling flowers for charity at the nearby Gallery nightclub. He said there was no sign that Mr Hickox had walked while injured to where he was found. "It's terrible how this can happen without anyone seeming to know how," he said.

The Evening Press understands that investigators have not found any signs of a blood trail, consistent with heavy bleeding from his wounds, leading from where Mr Hickox was found.

Police said yesterday that he suffered a fractured skull, from a single blow to the head, which he could have sustained in a hit-and-run collision with a vehicle.

Detective Sergeant John Roberts said today that police were not ruling anything out and were waiting for a full report from Home Office pathologist Chris Milroy. He said: "It is not really possible to say how or where he was positioned when he was struck. The investigation is ongoing," he said.

Police are appealing for anyone who was in the Lower Friargate area, close to Clifford Street Police Station, between 12.30am and 1.30am on Sunday to phone the incident room on 01904 618503.

Updated: 09:13 Saturday, July 26, 2003