NOW PLAYING • Glen Eden incident: Person struck in hit-and-run dead
Armed police and the serious crash unit are responding to the serious incident in a Glen Eden carpark where a man has been killed. Video / Michael Craig ...
A Glen Eden resident has described his desperate efforts to save the life of the victim of a hit-and-run in West Auckland this afternoon, saying he frantically performed CPR on the man before a doctor arrived.
The man died in a car park, police said, following the incident that was reportedly sparked by an earlier altercation.
Witnesses described the terrifying moment the driver of a black Holden allegedly hit a pedestrian in the car park in the west Auckland suburb - before fleeing the scene and waving a handgun at a woman who attempted to follow him.
Armed police descended on the area surrounding Glenmall Place just after midday, cordoning off nearby streets as ambulances and fire trucks responded to the incident.
Rainbow said the tight-knit community in Glen Eden surrounding Glenmall Place would have a sober feeling over the next few days.
“It’s a very strong community [here], attended by locals every day. Although the area has a bad reputation, the community is really tight - we’re Glen Eden people, we’re ‘Westies’.”
He said bystanders sprung into action to support the grieving family, direct traffic to clear a path for emergency services and stop people looking at the scene.
“The hero in this thing - nothing to do with me - it’s the lady that gave chase.”
Rainbow said a woman followed the Holden, recording the licence plate, determined to stay on his tail all the while relaying movements to police.
Woman gives chase as driver fled scene, brandished handgun
One witness told the Herald the driver pulled out a handgun and held it out a car window while fleeing from the scene.
Kat McCormick was pulling out of a car park with her daughter when she saw a man in a black Holden pull a hand-brake turn near the Glenmall intersection.
“We knew he was gone,” she said.
“He flew into his windshield ... It killed him.”
She then recorded the man’s licence plate and followed his car when he did not stop.
The driver then waved a handgun out the window, and sped away.
A man who was in the Glen Eden library near the scene of the fatal hit-and-run said he saw an altercation in the library before the incident.
Toby O’Donnell said he saw a man and a woman fighting just before the hit-and-run.
“They were yelling and screaming at each other.”
Armed police remain at the cordon as crying witnesses console each other at the edge of the cordon.
Glendale Rd is blocked between West Coast Rd & Oates Rd, due to a police incident. The 154 & 172 will need to detour via Oates, Wilson & Bowers Road until further notice. Stops missed: 5287, 5429. pic.twitter.com/Eix5NN16ol
— Auckland Transport Travel Alerts (@AT_TravelAlerts) November 23, 2022
A bakery worker said he did not see anything but a customer came into his shop and told him there was a fight happening around the corner.