Mum hurt in hit-and-run as she drops son at karate class

Police are speaking with a “person of interest” after a woman was seriously injured in a hit and run in Masterton yesterday evening.

Police said the woman was struck by a black car outside Wairarapa Hospital on Te Ore Ore Rd at 5.15pm.

A witness said the woman was dropping her son off at a karate class at the community hall across the street from the hospital.

Goju Ryu Karate instructor Steve Riley said he had never met the woman but believed she was bringing one or both of her sons to their first karate lesson.

There were two boys at the scene, he said, and he guessed they were aged about 8 and 4. They were distraught, and he brought them inside to get them away from the crash.

A couple of cars had stopped to help the woman.

“I didn’t see anything but I just helped the little boys who were there,” he said. “All I did see was the boys were really upset, so I took hold of them and took them away.”

The children were picked up later by their father, Riley said.

A Wairarapa District Health Board spokeswoman said the woman was in her early 30s and was with her young son.

The child was not injured, but was assessed by medical staff after the event, she said.

The woman was taken to Wellington Hospital by the Life Flight Westpac rescue helicopter, which arrived just before 6.50pm, said a witness.

She was described as being in a “serious but stable” condition when she was picked up by the chopper.

Masterton police said the car would have suffered “significant damage” in the crash.

“The vehicle involved in the incident has left the scene,” a police statement said. “The vehicle involved is described as a black older model, possibly hatchback car.”

Anyone who saw the incident or has seen the car is asked to call police.

Just after 10pm police said they were speaking to a person of interest in relation to the crash. However they still want anyone who saw the inci- dent to call Masterton police.

An employee at Thirsty Liquor, about 100m from where the incident occurred, said he heard the commotion but wasn’t aware of what had happened. Another witness saw at least four police cars at the scene.

Police had set up roadblocks between Totara St and Colombo Rd, and traffic was being diverted away from the scene.

Information can be shared with Masterton police on (06) 370 0300 or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.