A NEWSPAPER delivery man died in hospital today after being hit by a car in Hatch End and suffering a heart attack.

Father-of-two Rajaendran Ramakrishnan was riding his pushbike westbound along Uxbridge Road at 6.20am on Tuesday morning when he was in collision with a silver Honda Civic outside Grimsdyke Café in The Broadway.

The 34-year-old Sri Lankan, who police say was known in the area, sustained "severe" head injuries.

He was in cardiac arrest when paramedics turned and they tried to resuscitate him before taking him to Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London.Mr Ramakrishnan died there today.

The Broadway was sealed off between the junctions of Wellington Road and Grimsdyke Road for several hours to preserve the scene.

Whether the cyclist suffered the heart attack before or after the crash will form part of the investigation by the Metropolitan Police's road death investigation unit based in Alperton.

Detective Constable Clare Bevis said: "The driver was heading towards Ruislip along the Uxbridge Road, and had just crossed the roundabout where Morrisons is.

"The paperboy was cycling near the junction with Grimsdyke Road when he was hit from behind by the car involved.

"He had severe head injuries. There were a number of papers strewn in the road.

"The driver, a 21-year-old man from north London, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of dangerous driving and was released the same day on police bail.

"The victim was a local Sri Lankan man. He was known facially by local shops."

Mr Ramakrishnan delivered newspapers for both Milli News and Harveys newsagents in Uxbridge Road and had been sharing a room in the flat above the latter with 22-year-old Punnitha Kumarajothi for less than a month.

Mr Kumarajothi said: "He was doing the same jobs as me but he had to get up before me at 6am because he has four rounds and I have one. He would start at 6.30am and finish at around 7.45am.

"I don't know much about him but he told he's got a wife and two kids in Sri Lanka. The shopkeepers are feeling sad because it's someone's life. You can't be happy at this moment."

Revathy Poovendranathan, who co-owns Harveys with her husband, said: "He was working for us for two or three weeks. He delivered in Grimsdyke Road, Altham Road, and Wellington Road.

"He's a good boy and a hard worker as well. He's got a lot of friends."

Det Con Bevis added: "We're going to put an appeal board out and that should be with us in a couple of days.

"We are appealing for witnesses. It was 6.30 in the morning and at that time, people are coming to open their shops, and there's quite a lot of flats along that side of the road.

"We're doing door-to-door enquiries up there and seizing CCTV footage. Anybody who saw or heard the collision, or any shopkeepers who find they caught the collision on CCTV, should ring us."
n Contact the police witness line on 0208 998 5319.