Robbed, beaten, left on road
When Ty Rix first spotted a figure in his headlights, he doubted it was a person on the road.
Surely not, he thought, as he neared the man sprawled on a Waikato highway in a dark and drizzly Tuesday morning.
‘‘He was just lying there on his back with his body half over the white line with his arms spread on the road,’’ the 43-year-old Aucklander said after coming across the man on Tuesday.
‘‘He was extremely lucky no other cars or trucks had actually hit him.’’
Waikato police are now praising Rix’s efforts in helping the 28-year-old man who he found unconscious on a Nga¯ ruawa¯ hia road.
Senior Sergeant Dave Hall said police were investigating allegations the local man was assaulted and potentially robbed before he was found.
‘‘We are grateful and really happy with the motorist who stopped and provided aid and stopped this man from being further injured by other motorists,’’ Hall said.
‘‘He rendered initial first aid, made sure the person was out of harms way, alerted us.
‘‘It was all the things you’d expect of someone and more – they did really well.’’
Rix was driving from his home in Takanini to put a sold sticker on the new house he’d recently purchased in Hawera, New Plymouth, early Tuesday.
As he made the journey south he decided to stop for coffee at the BP in Nga¯ ruawa¯ hia, taking a right at the Taupiri roundabout onto Great South Rd.
Several metres south, approaching the 70kmh, he spotted a figure in his headlights.
‘‘I thought it was strange, as I got closer it was looking more and more like a person.’’
Realising it was a man, Rix stopped the car and doubled back.
‘‘I thought s***.’’
He dialled 111. Then went to check on the man.
‘‘I went to touch him and he was cold, I couldn’t feel any breath.
‘‘I didn’t want to move him in case I hurt him more.’’
The man was dressed in all black and was barely visible at 4.30am.
‘‘I had no idea how long he was lying there beforehand – in the time we were there a couple of trucks went past – perhaps people thought it was rubbish or a dead animal.’’
Rix flagged down another young motorist, Andrew, heading to work at AFFCO, and together the pair parked their vehicles to shield the man.
‘‘We blocked him off, and he helped me contain the scene until the emergency services arrived.’’
Paramedics and firefighters arrived soon after, working on the man for 20 minutes before he regained consciousness.
He was taken to Waikato Hospital in a serious condition.
‘‘When he did come around he was screaming and holding his head.’’
Rix has since been contacted by the man’s family who thanked him for his potentially life-saving efforts.
‘‘I’m just glad he’s okay and alive.’’ Due to his injuries, Hall said police were initially unable to speak with the man directly but understood he may have been assaulted and robbed beforehand.
Further investigations were being made and police were speaking with several people about the incident, he said.
A Waikato Hospital spokesperson confirmed the man had since been discharged.
Anyone with information can call Constable Ryan Rakels of Huntly police on 07-828 7560.
‘‘He was just lying there on his back with his body half over the white line with his arms spread on the road’’
Ty Rix