A chef has had two fingers all-but chopped off in an alleged road rage incident in South Auckland.
Gagon Dhamijaa, 38, was driving towards Ōtāhuhu last Friday when the attack happened on Great South Rd.
A police spokesman said a 30-year-old man “will face the court after an incident that occurred in Ōtāhuhu on Friday, August 23”.
The chef, who works at Delhi Tadka eatery in Papatoetoe, has been told by doctors he will be unable to work for at least 18 months.
Dhamijaa told the Herald he was driving at the speed limit of 50km/h when a car behind him began honking aggressively.
“I thought he must be in a hurry, so I moved to one side and let him pass,” he said.
But after the car passed, Dhamijaa said it swerved in front of him forcing him to stop.
“The driver of the car got out holding a knife. He said, ‘you just wait, I tell you’,” said Dhamijaa.
“Next thing I knew he was trying to stab me in the chest. I blocked it with my hands and that was how the knife cut off part of my middle finger and the ring finger on my right hand.”
Dhamijaa said he also suffered less severe cuts on his other hand, and “blood was gushing out everywhere”.
“I was yelling for help, and telling him, ‘sorry brother, sorry’, but he just wouldn’t stop,” he said.
“The man’s eyes were red and filled with rage, everything happened so fast, but this 15 seconds or so has totally changed my life.”
Police arrived at the scene moments after the attack, with one police vehicle attending to Dhamijaa while another pursued the attacker’s car, he said.
Dhamijaa was taken to Middlemore Hospital where plastic surgeons reattached his fingers, which he said were dangling by threads of skin.
“I am still in extreme pain, and they told me it would be one and a half years at least before I can regain full use of them,” he said.
“I am a chef, trained in Indian and Italian food. But without my hands, I am useless. How will I work?”
Originally from Delhi, Dhamijaa said he sold everything to move to New Zealand a year ago to plan a better future for his 4-year-old son.
His wife and son arrived just a month ago to join him.
“What a nightmare start for the better life that I wanted for my son,” Dhamijaa said.
“Now he doesn’t even have a friend. I used to play with him a lot, but with my injuries, now I can’t.”
Dhamijaa said he was worried about how he was going to support his family financially since he wouldn’t be able to work for so long.
A police spokesman said police were notified at about 1.30pm that a man had been injured by an unknown male on Great South Rd last Friday.
“A police unit quickly arrived on scene and signalled for the alleged suspect, who was driving a vehicle, to stop,” he said.
“He did not, and police initiated a short pursuit at safe speed, following the alleged suspect’s vehicle to an address on Church St.
“At this point, the driver was immediately taken into custody without further incident.”
The spokesman said other police attended to the injured man until an ambulance arrived, and he was transported to hospital in a moderate condition.
“He underwent surgery for an injury to his hand, that was consistent with a stab wound,” the spokesman said.
A 30-year-old man was remanded in custody and is due to appear in the Manukau District Court on September 3.
He has been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and failing to stop a vehicle.