Hitandrun; ute sought

WANAKA police are looking for a white utility vehicle believed to have been involved in a hitandrun near Lake Hawea on Saturday night.

Detective Al Lee told the

Otago Daily Times yesterday the 24yearold man injured in the event had been discharged from Dunedin Hospital, where he was taken by helicopter.

The man was in a group of four young people walking along the gravel portion of Gladstone Rd, a few hundred metres from the intersection with Cemetery Rd.

They were heading towards Timaru River, planning to visit friends at John Creek.

Det Lee said they had been walking only a few minutes when, shortly before 11.30pm, a vehicle travelling in the same direction hit the man.

‘‘They heard a vehicle approach. It clipped one of the guys and knocked him over and carried on.’’

Det Lee said the group were out socialising and were not ‘‘looking for trouble or causing trouble or anything like that’’.

The group recalled the vehicle being a white utility. They were unsure if it was a double cab or a single cab, but it was ‘‘possibly a wellside utility’’.

Det Lee said police were uncertain whether the vehicle was damaged. They did not believe any damage would be significant, but ‘‘something like a broken wing mirror is quite possible’’.

Wanaka police (03) 4437272, Crimestoppers 0800 555111.