A driver allegedly slammed another car off the road during a suspected road-rage incident yesterday, sending it careering into a bus shelter and seriously injuring a waiting teenager.
The young woman was flung up to six metres, and the shelter was completely destroyed.
The incident in Avondale just after 1.45pm occurred after a delay at the traffic-light-controlled intersection of St Georges Rd and Wolverton St.
A 33-year-old woman driving a Subaru allegedly rammed a green Volvo, sending it ploughing into the bus stop, and into the teenager.
"You had two vehicles, one Subaru and a Volvo," a police spokesman said.
"A Volvo's pulled up behind a Subaru at the intersection. [The] Subaru has stopped to talk to another car alongside it and the Volvo started beeping the horn, which upset the driver of the Subaru."
He said the woman driving the Subaru appeared to have intentionally driven into the Volvo on Wolverton St, causing it to slam into the bus stop, where the teenager was waiting for a bus.
The driver of the Subaru allegedly tried to go down nearby Miranda St but the car was "T-boned" when it pulled in front of a van heading in the opposite direction, the spokesman said.
The injured teenager was taken to Auckland City Hospital.
"She had quite a few grazes and abrasions but nothing was actually broken," the spokesman said.
Ambulance staff, however, said her condition was serious.
Residents and workers who saw the aftermath of the crash said the teen was lucky to survive.
A worker at a nearby tyre business was one of the first to help her.
"There was the sounds of the tyres screeching, then we heard the glass smash," said the man, who declined to be identified.
He looked outside to see the young woman lying on the concrete.
"She just got wiped out. She probably went a good five to six metres."
He and a colleague called the ambulance and took their first-aid kit out to help the teen. "It wasn't much use though - it was a bit small."
They were also joined by a man who saw the crash. He seemed to be experienced in first-aid.
A woman whose workplace is close by said the impact of the crash between the cars caused the Volvo to spin out of control into the bus stop.
"The bus stop just collapsed on it.
"There were people inside the vehicle who just walked away. I couldn't believe they got up and walked away."
A woman whose home is on the corner of Miranda and Wolverton Sts said the Subaru ended up on the opposite corner from her house.
It was lucky it did not hit a home or anyone else, she said.
The van that T-boned the Subaru was in the middle of the road.
The woman also said there had been about four minor road accidents in the area since the beginning of the year.
Police said the driver of the Subaru was from Beach Haven, on the North Shore.
An investigation into the incident was ongoing and staff had not yet decided what the alleged road rager would be charged with. They were considering a number of charges, including dangerous driving causing injury and assault with a blunt instrument - her vehicle.
The spokesman said the dangerous driving charge could also be upgraded to the more serious reckless driving causing injury depending on the nature of the teen's injuries.
He said no one travelling inside the three vehicles was injured in the crash.
The incident was reported about 7.30pm.