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Police are investigating the death of an elderly man in connection with a horror Half Moon Bay crash where a driver allegedly targeted a group of Good Samaritans who were helping a woman who had already been hit by his car.
The Herald understands the older man was near a group who came to assist a woman who had been hit by a car in Prince Regent Dr, Half Moon Bay on December 10.
The driver, who faces range of charges related to the incident, then allegedly drove at the group again, injuring several more people including a young nurse who came to assist the injured woman.
Amid the mayhem, it is believed an elderly man suffered a medical event, though he was not directly hit by the car. He was taken to hospital where he died at the weekend.
A statement from police said they are still working to establish how the elderly man was involved.
“Police are treating the man’s death as unexplained, and further enquiries will need to be carried out around any involvement he had in the incident,” the statement said.
“This will include a post mortem examination.”
Police are in attendance of an earlier crash in Half Moon Bay which left six pedestrians with injuries on Prince Regent Drive. One person was arrested. Photo / Hayden Woodward
The older man was one of five people taken to hospital following the incident, among them a young nurse.
A 22-year-old man was arrested at the scene and is facing seven charges, including wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
He made his first appearance in the Manukau District Court last week where he was granted interim name suppression.
A man living near the scene in Prince Regent Dr has described how the event unfolded. He was among those trying to help the woman about 5.30pm last Sunday and the Herald agreed to keep him anonymous.
He said he heard a woman scream from the area of the bus stop across the road from the Tuscan Pl intersection.
“So we rushed down there, and she was sitting in a pool of something,” he said.
A nurse and her partner who were passing the scene stopped to help, the witness said.
The man said the subsequent events are a bit of a blur but another nurse and an elderly man joined the group of people assisting an injured woman.
They heard the sound of a car turning around before the black Volkswagen collided into the group, he said.
The driver then got out of his car and walked off, he said.
The witness and two other men pursued him down the road and managed to get him on the ground.
“He’d given up by that stage,” the witness said.
The bus stop near where the woman was found showing damage the morning after the mayhem. Photo / George Block
Another resident, Marilyn Segedin, said she was watching television when she heard the sound of a car travelling down the road before a sickening bang.
She rushed out of her seat to see two people lying on the ground.
Two young people hit by the car were “in complete shock” trying to process what had happened, Segedin said.
“They were trying to get up and move around but a bystander told them to stay put until police and ambulances arrived,” she said.
“The chap next door to us ran after [the driver] because when he had hit the people he pulled up on the road.”
St John said they took two people in a serious condition to Auckland City and Middlemore Hospitals. A further two people in a moderate condition were also taken to Middlemore while two suffered minor injuries, the ambulance service said.
Police said in a statement they “understand this incident has caused great concern amongst the community, and we are continuing to investigate the circumstances of what took place”.
Police asking anyone with information to come forward by calling the 105 line quoting file number 231210/5003.
George Block is an Auckland-based reporter with a focus on police, the courts, prisons and defence. He joined the Herald in 2022 and has previously worked at Stuff in Auckland and the Otago Daily Times in Dunedin.
