Van hit after woman given refuge

When Lisa Mulligan offered refuge inside her van to a woman in distress, she did not expect it to be rammed several times by the woman’s ‘‘crazy [boyfriend]’’.

About 6.10am on Monday, Mulligan, a vineyard delegate, said it was a ‘‘normal work morning’’ as she and her colleagues waited for another worker inside her white van on Heretaunga St West in Hastings. However, things changed when a woman ‘‘scared for her life’’ approached them seeking safety.

‘‘We arrived a little early and she just jumped in the van and asked for help to take her to [the] police station because she was scared,’’ Mulligan said.

Mulligan then drove off. However, a man, understood to be the distressed woman’s partner, began following Mulligan’s vehicle.

‘‘He got behind us, and everything was a blur after that once he started ramming.’’

The van, which had six passengers in it at the time, is said to have been rammed about 11 times by the man.

At one point, the ramming was so severe, the van was toppled on to its side.

‘‘At the end I jumped out of my seat to [the] passengers’ side, he came to my door with his scary eyes and everyone told him police [were] coming.

‘‘He jumped in his car and sped off, we then parked in [the] radio station carpark and two people are currently admitted to hospital and couple of us are being looked at as we speak,’’ Mulligan said.

A Hawke’s Bay District Health Board spokeswoman confirmed four people had been taken to Hawke’s Bay Hospital in relation to the incident.

A woman in her 30s and a man in his 20s were both admitted to hospital in stable conditions in the morning, and remained stable at 3.30pm.

Mulligan said while she was ‘‘freaking’’ during the incident, she was doing what anybody else would do.

‘‘I just did what I would expect someone to do with me if I was trying to escape a crazy [boyfriend].’’