Bashed man afraid of strangers
Elderly victim says he will no longer offer lifts to people he doesn’t know in wake of attack by hitch hikers
TPeter de Graaf
he 82-year-old who was brutally attacked by two youths who stole his car says he will never again offer a lift to people he doesn’t know.
Keith, who doesn’t want his last name used, said he saw the pair thumbing a ride at a layby on State Highway 10, near Waipapa, on Friday afternoon. It was starting to rain so he stopped to give them a lift.
The owner of a B&B in Kerikeri, Keith said he had given rides to many people, especially in summer when the roadsides were teeming with overseas visitors. The youths told him they wanted to go to Okaihau so he offered to drop them off on Wiroa Rd.
However, when he stopped to let them out opposite Kerikeri airport, the athletic-looking youth in the back seat started beating him across the face with a hard object.
He had his seatbelt on and couldn’t escape at first; eventually he freed himself and was pushed out of the car. He recalled hanging on to the door and calling for help, then ending up on the gravel where he was beaten some more. “The one hitting me, he wasn’t normal. He was hyped up. He looked evil.”
When he regained consciousness a passer-by was asking him if he was okay. He was taken to Bay of Islands Hospital and discharged that evening. He still has pain where he was struck repeatedly on the face.
As well as the shock of the attack he had to deal with the hassle of replacing his bank cards and driver’s licence. He had lost his hearing aid and his watch had been smashed. “One thing I’ve learned, you don’t pick up people thumbing a lift if you don’t know them. I wouldn’t want anyone to go through what I’ve just gone through.” He had also started locking his house at night and his car when he left it for a short time, things he never used to do. “The world has changed so much,” he said. However, everyone he had dealt with — police, St John, hospital staff, Victim Support — had been extremely kind. What had moved him most, to the point of tears, was a hamper someone had left at the police station. It was filled with treats, a bottle of wine, reading material and cards made by children.
One of the cards reads: “I’m sorry I don’t know you name, but I think you are kind and the people who took your car are very mean. I want you to know that I care about you and I’m sad that this happened.”
The gesture had restored his faith in human nature, Keith said.
Meanwhile, police have arrested two youths, one of them after a dramatic car chase which started when a member of the public spotted the stolen Suzuki Swift on Lake Rd, Okaihau, about 9.30am yesterday. Police descended on the area, closing roads and setting up road spikes. About 10am the car was spiked in Okaihau township, puncturing its right rear tyre. The driver fled north on SH1, reaching speeds of up to 130km/h and somehow keeping the car on the road for 30km as the tyre disintegrated. He scattered cones as he sped through roadworks at Umawera before finally losing control north of Mangamuka township, just past an urupa¯ where a crowd had gathered.
The Swift spun out and ended up in a roadside ditch. The driver tried to get back on to the road but was boxed in by police.
He was uninjured but pinned inside the car by a bank on one side and a police car on the other. He was taken to Kaikohe police station for questioning.
Blue Hill, 17, and Claudia ChapmanKete, 19, were working at Mangamuka Dairy when the stolen car came hurtling past about 10.15am, leaving a trail of smoke. It was followed by six police cars. Chapman-Kete said the car was making a noise “like a helicopter”.
Hill said the driver looked about 16 and appeared strangely calm. “He wasn’t freaking out. He was just acting like it was normal,” she said.
Senior Sergeant Peter Robinson, of Mid North police, said the 15-year-old driver had been charged with receiving stolen property and a range of driving offences. He is due in Youth Court later this week. Police were still working to establish whether he was involved in Friday’s robbery. A 17-year-old was also arrested yesterday as a result of what described as “good police work”.
He is due in Kaikohe District Court today charged with aggravated robbery.