BASHED For $20 and a hot pizza
A“quiet, hard-working” pizza delivery driver bashed, robbed of $20 and left bleeding on a footpath is struggling to talk clearly in hospital.
Mansoor Khan was delivering an order to a Kelman Rd address in Kelston at 6.30pm on Sunday. Police say Khan had parked his car, a silver Subaru Impreza, and was hit over the head as he got the pizza from the boot.
He was knocked out and found 15 minutes later by a passerby.
The offenders escaped with pizza and just $20, leaving blood pooling on the footpath. The attack has disgusted police, who say Khan was fortunate he got help.
Mario Tionko, 55, said a passerby had knocked on his door and taken him to the bleeding, semiconscious Khan. The delivery man told him the address the pizza was meant for, but residents at that property said they never placed an order.
Khan, 47, remains in a serious but stable condition in North Shore Hospital.
Colleagues say efforts to track down his family have proved fruitless, though it is thought they may live in Australia. Khan, who is Pakistani, has lived in New Zealand for several years.
Several Pizza Hut workers have visited Khan in hospital. He has worked at the Kelston store for about a year but had worked for other Pizza Hut stores in the past.
A fellow worker said Khan was awake and “doing good” but woozy.
He was happy to see his colleagues but struggled to speak clearly.
“The bleeding’s stopped — if it bleeds again or he goes unconscious he has to have surgery.”
Khan was quiet, worked hard and never caused trouble. He had told colleagues he was not married and had no family, his co-worker said.
The attack has stirred memories for Rita Croskery, whose son Michael Choy was beaten to death with a baseball bat in Papakura in 2001 while out delivering pizza.
The teenagers responsible placed a fake order with Pizza Hut, she said, adding it was “devastating” to hear of a similar attack.
“It brings back the memories when you hear about these things again . . . It’s a terrible thing. It’s awful.”
Croskery said she hoped Khan would be okay and that police would come down tough on those responsible.
“Whoever it is, whatever it is, you really have to be pretty tough as a deterrent.”
After Choy’s death she had asked Pizza Hut whether its delivery drivers should work in pairs.
“I really don’t like the idea of them going out late at night — I thought they should have somebody else with them. But they’ve never done anything about it.”
Restaurant Brands, which owns Pizza Hut, said the company was “absolutely appalled” by the attack and would be supporting the driver.
Driver safety was of the “utmost importance”, the company said. It said drivers had a safety app on their phones that was monitored 24/7, tracked them and alerted emergency services if required.
“All of our drivers receive safety training and are advised not to make a delivery if they are ever concerned for their safety.”
Detective Sergeant Kelly Farrant said police were “absolutely disgusted” by the assault on an “innocent member of our community”.
“This could have been far more serious had a member of the public not found the victim and called for help.”
It was not clear how many people were involved, Farrant said. Anyone with information — even something minor — should call police, she said.
“We want to hold whoever is responsible for this crime to account.”