The family of a young lawyer tragically killed in a hit-and-run will not see justice served, as the driver accused in the incident has died. Zisi Kokotatsios, a ride-share driver, was alleged to have been using his phone illegally while heading to pick up a passenger around 4 a.m. on March 17, 2024. During this time, he purportedly struck 28-year-old lawyer Mitch East in Tamarama, located in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, and failed to stop and render assistance. Emergency responders arrived at the scene but were unable to revive Mr. East, who was declared dead.

Kokotatsios, who had been charged with dangerous driving occasioning death and failing to stop and assist, had pleaded not guilty and was slated to stand trial. However, on Friday, the Downing Centre District Court was informed of the 65-year-old’s passing. Consequently, all criminal charges, including negligent driving occasioning death and illegal mobile phone use, were dropped, and the case was dismissed. According to an online death notice, Kokotatsios died on November 11, with his funeral held later that month at Rookwood Cemetery. The legal proceedings had faced multiple delays since his arrest in March 2024, with Kokotatsios formally denying the charges approximately 16 months later at the Downing Centre Local Court.

A trial initially scheduled for August was postponed, and a new date had not been confirmed. Mitch East, the alleged victim, was a Harvard Law School graduate from the class of 2022, as noted on his LinkedIn profile. At the time of his untimely death, he was employed at the Sydney-based law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler, having started his legal journey in his home country, New Zealand. Following his passing, an internal email from the firm highlighted Mr. East as a highly talented and cherished colleague, whose absence would be profoundly felt. In the aftermath, Mr. East’s mother expressed the depth of her grief to the New Zealand media outlet, Stuff, describing the loss of her only child as ‘unbearable.’ She poignantly remarked, ‘He was my only child, my reason for living. I died when he did. The pain is unbearable. So I just can’t think straight to talk sorry.’

She described her son as a ‘a good person with a good heart’. According to his LinkedIn profile, Kokotatsios worked in an array of industries – from hospitality to engineering. He worked as a Qantas engineer between 1989 and 2014, but within that time he also appeared to run a his own businesses as a mortgage broker and sold monitoring systems for goods in transit. After leaving Qantas, he became the owner of a coffee and tea distribution business, Gourmet Coffee King, before he moved into the travel industry in 2016 as an ‘innovator’ for Innovators Travel Network. Kokotatsios then became a marketing director in 2017 for another company he appeared to own, before he became the senior director for a property company in 2021.