Bottle attack grandmother: 'I'm not doing too bad'

Mary Loader needed titanium plates inserted in her face after the bottle attack. Photo / Tauranga Police

A 65-year-old grandmother hit in the face by a bottle thrown from a passing car has woken from her coma and spoken for the first time.

While Mary Loader does not remember anything from the attack, police hope she can help in the hunt for the four men in the vehicle the bottle was flung from. The three-quarters-full beer bottle cracked bones in her face, knocking her down as she walked along Domain Rd in Papamoa. She had five metal plates inserted into her face during reconstructive surgery at Tauranga Hospital and was placed in an induced coma.

Ms Loader is now in a ward. She still sounded dazed when she spoke to the Herald last night and had to pass the phone to her daughter when asked how long she had been awake.

When asked how she was feeling, Ms Loader said that "under the circumstances, I'm not doing too bad".

She wasn't able to provide information on the men in the light-coloured, four-door car the bottle came from.

"You'll have to talk to the police on that respect. I'm sorry."

She joked that "you can only whip an old dog so many times," meaning she was lucky to be alive.

Her daughter Vicky Loader said her mother was "doing well".

Police still need an anonymous caller who phoned the hospital, leaving details on potential suspects, to contact them. The caller gave a person's nickname and the street where he may live. Police have said if the caller did not throw the bottle, but gave the name of the person who did, he would not be prosecuted.

Detective Sergeant Darryl Brazier, of the Tauranga CIB, wants to hear from any other witnesses and, more importantly, the occupants of the car. Police are awaiting results of forensic examinations to find traces of the offender's DNA.

Since the attack, police have learned of similar incidents involving bottles which they have described as a "disturbing trend".

Anyone with information should call Tauranga police on (07) 577 4300 or Mr Brazier on 027 494 5251.