Two men charged with assault following fight

TWO Invercargill men have been arrested and charged with assaulting an unknown man in Queenstown at the weekend.

Sergeant Steve Watt, of Queenstown, said the incident happened about 5am on Friday, in Camp St, when the pair got into a fight with an unknown man.

The third man was believed to have thrown the first punch.

He ended up on the ground, where he was allegedly ‘‘punched and kicked’’ by the two Southlanders.

All three were injured as a result of the incident.

The two men charged are expected to appear in the Invercargill District Court next Tuesday.

The third male received a warning, Sgt Watt said.

Two 28yearold tourists have been arrested for drinkdriving in separate incidents.

In the first, a male, from the United Kingdom, was stopped in Lake Esplanade at 11pm on Thursday and had a breath alcohol reading of 475mcg.

‘‘He stated they were driving into town to get some chips and gravy,’’ Sgt Watt said.

Another man, from the Czech Republic, was stopped in Gorge Rd at 12.30am on Friday.

He blew 882mcg and his licence was suspended for 28 days.

Crashes

A van and a bus were damaged after a crash on State Highway 6, near the AJ Hackett Kawarau bungy site, late on Saturday afternoon.

Sgt Watt said the van driver, a 24yearold, was heading towards Cromwell, while the commercial bus was turning right from the bungy site to head towards Queenstown.

As the 59yearold driver of the bus pulled out, the 24yearold ‘‘realised he was going to hit the bus’’.

The van driver took evasive action, pulling to the right, but he still hit the bus and then crashed into a bank on the other side of the road.

The van was extensively damaged and there was moderate damage to the bus, but noone was injured.

A few hours later a Queenstown woman lost control of her vehicle, which shunted a parked vehicle into a power pole near Frankton.

Sgt Watt said charges were being reviewed following the incident which happened at 12.30am on Sunday.

The woman was driving towards Peninsula Rd, in a 50kmh zone, when she lost control of the vehicle which was a ‘‘writeoff’’.

She was taken to Lakes District Hospital with minor injuries.

Cyclist

Police are making inquiries with Thrifty rentals after the driver of one of their vehicles hit a cyclist on Frankton Rd.

Sgt Watt said the male was cycling along Frankton Rd through a 30kmh area where there are roadworks and the Thrifty vehicle was travelling parallel.

The driver of the vehicle got ‘‘closer and closer’’ to the cyclist, who eventually hit the kerb, ‘‘and the vehicle hit the cyclist’’.

The victim came off their bike but managed to stay upright.

The car driver did not stop.