Guy Morgan said it was a miracle that no one watching the burnouts was killed.
Not only were the crowd of more than 200 people that circled the main State Highway 1 intersection in Levin in danger of being hit by the out-of-control sliding cars, but at least 15 people had managed to climb up on to shop facades.
Morgan said the facades were not built to hold the crowd on the roof and that people standing underneath could have been seriously hurt too, if the roof had collapsed.
Many of the rods holding up the Levin shop facades the crowds climbed on to show signs of aging.
The shop facades were built more than 100 years ago.
Morgan, who is retired, said he was woken by the crowd and the sound of tyres exploding around 3am on Sunday. He could only watch on and pray that nobody got hurt.
Levin man Guy Morgan feared someone in the crowd was going to be killed or seriously injured.
“It was a hell of a racket,” he said.
“There were 250-odd people standing in a square shape with cars flying around. They had no traction. I was just waiting for someone to lose it and hit someone, or a power pole - one slip or one wheel gripping,” he said.
“There was a guy hanging out the window and he could have easily been cut in half. It was that moronic.
“It was like watching Russian roulette. I was just waiting to hear the ambulance. You’d be lucky to get away with a broken hip.”
Police were pelted with rocks and bottles, injuring two officers and damaging two police vehicles during anti-social road user activity in Levin. Photo / NZ Police
He was surprised to see how prepared participants were. He saw a “flash” ute unload a car from a trailer in a nearby car park. The ute was loaded with spare tyres and modern gear needed to change tyres and rims.
“He had all the gear. There was no shortage of money. And they were well organised. They knew what they were doing,” he said.
“It was obviously pre-arranged. There are probably a few good sides to social media, but this is one of the bad.”
He was sympathetic to police who attended the melee, which lasted less than a hour before moving on to another location.
“They’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t. They can’t win. They step in and get assaulted, or don’t and then someone gets hurt. They always say it’s something they did or shouldn’t have done, but people have to take responsibility for their own actions,” he said.
Skid marks left after large group of cars did burnouts during a car meet in Levin. Photo / Dallas Puha
“Of course if someone was hurt it would be someone else’s fault. You have to bury them or fix them and someone else is to blame. Where is the personal responsibility? There’s a lack of accountability.
“They might have got away with it this time, but I just feel sorry for the parents of one of these kids who is either going to be killed or maimed for life.”
Shopkeepers and business owners spoken to by Horowhenua Chronicle said it was a miracle the shop facades held up with that number of people standing on them. Many had seen the footage on social media.
“It would be the most unsafe thing to be on,” one said.
They could not believe it happened in Levin and were saddened the group - largely people from out of town - had chosen to stage their gathering outside their stores.
“Why choose Levin? That’s the sad thing. Okay, there’s idiots everywhere, but this was an organised riot,” she said.
As townsfolk went about their business on Tuesday morning, the weekend’s events were the topic of every conversation.
Circles of thick black tyre marks at the main intersection of Queen St and Arapaepae Rd.
There was a genuine feeling of sadness that their town was targeted.
