Motorway louts give mum scary close call

A Manurewa mother of four was shaken when a large rock and traffic cones were thrown at her car from a Southwestern Motorway overbridge. Photo / Dean Purcell.

An Auckland woman came close to tragedy when a large rock was thrown from an overbridge and crashed on to her bonnet, shattering her windscreen.

Ana Leo was was driving on the Southwestern Motorway at 10.30pm on Thursday when the rock landed on her Ford Territory.

The incident brought back memories for her of the 2005 death of Christopher Currie, who was killed on the Southern Motorway when an 8kg piece of concrete was thrown from an overbridge.

Ngatai Reweti, then 14, was jailed for nearly four years for manslaughter. He was released on parole in March 2009.

Mrs Leo was driving home to Manurewa from work at Auckland Airport when the rock crashed from the Barrowcliffe Place overbridge. It was constructed as part of the motorway extension but is not used.

"She was just really shocked because there was this big bang ... She kept driving and could feel something under the tyres but didn't want to stop because there were no cars around," her husband Semi Leo said.

"She was thinking about turning off the motorway and assessing the damage to the car but didn't, and came home to call the cops."

Yesterday Mr Leo visited the scene and found shattered rocks along the road and orange traffic cones.

As well as rocks, traffic cones were thrown off the bridge. Mrs Leo saw flashes of orange before the rock hit her car and believed the cones were also thrown off the bridge.

"When I drove there this morning there were two cones on the left-hand side of the motorway, just lying there in the middle of nowhere, and one on the other side of the overbridge."

Mr Leo said his wife was shaken after the incident but was thankful. "It could have been a hell of a lot worse. She could have easily ended up like [Mr Currie]."

Afterwards all she wanted to do was go home to her four children. "She wanted to give them a big hug and was just thankful to be home."

Mr Leo said he could "just picture" another tragedy if people continued the stupid acts.

His message to the culprits was simple. "I don't know why they do it in the first place. It could be their family and they wouldn't even know."

A spokesman for the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) last night said the agency was relieved no one was hurt by the reckless action that had the potential to cause serious injury.

"The NZTA is working with police to try and apprehend those responsible."

Security and access to the bridge was being investigated following the incident.