Police appeal to car repairers

Panel beaters and car electricians are being asked to keep an eye out for a Honda vehicle which left a 2-year-old boy with serious injuries on Saturday night.

The mid to late 1980s grey or silver car will have damage on the front and possibly its side after being involved in a hit and run in Sandringham, Auckland.

The driver, a man described as Caucasian and in his mid-20s, has yet to come forward despite pleas for him to do so by police and the boy's mother.

Joseph Tuinukuafe was left with a range of injuries after being hit while crossing Pine Rd at just before 8pm.

He was flung so far that a young witness thought he had been thrown from the car which turned right into Oxton Rd and sped off.

Witnesses say the driver did not even slow down.

The toddler's mother, Rute Tuinukuafe told the Herald that she initially wanted to kill the man who had left her little boy injured on the road.

She now wants him to hand himself in.

Police say the driver would have known he had hit something, if not from the impact, then from the damage to his car. There was broken glass from the lights at the scene.

Constable Bryan Hensley, of the Serious Crash Unit, said police had received calls from the public with sightings of vehicles that might match the car, but there had been no firm leads by yesterday afternoon.

He urged the driver to contact police to give his version of events.

"I'd also ask panel beaters and auto-electricians to keep a wary eye out for any vehicle that might fit the description and which has minor damage to the front of it," Mr Hensley said.

Anyone with information about the car or driver is asked to call Avondale police on (09) 820-5700.