Road-rage victim dies; accused man named

The incident after a minor collision between this BMW and Mr Patel's van escalated in front of school children. Photos / Richard Robinson

An Auckland student has appeared in court charged with assaulting an elderly van driver who died in hospital this afternoon.

78-year-old Te Atatu grandfather Jasmatbhai Patel was allegedly beaten following a minor crash on Carrington Rd, Mt Albert, about 7.50am yesterday.

Mr Patel received critical injuries and was put into an induced coma at Auckland Hospital.

Bio O'Brien, 27, appeared in court briefly today and was charged shortly after news came through of Mr Patel's death.

Police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty said Mr Patel died at 1.30pm today while surrounded by his family.

Police have now launched a homicide inquiry.

O'Brien is a student from Tuvalu, a group of islands in the central Pacific, formerly known as the Ellice Islands.

He entered no plea and was remanded in custody to reappear tomorrow when he may apply for bail.

Mr Patel was with family members when he died, police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty said.

Family members were yesterday devastated and baffled as to why someone would hurt Mr Patel. One of his grandsons, who did not wish to be named, was in complete shock.

"We are all a quiet family. We get on with our lives and our jobs. It has come as a shock. He did not deserve this," he said.

The boy described his grandfather as a friendly and quiet man who loved gardening, and kept to himself.

Police say the incident - which escalated in front of a large crowd of intermediate school children at a bus stop - occurred about 7.50am, after a minor collision between a 1997 BMW and a Nissan van on Carrington Road in Mt Albert.

Detective Sergeant Pete Steward of Avondale Police told the Herald the attack had been triggered by a "very, very minor" accident.

Investigators were at the scene for almost five hours, finally removing both vehicles about 1pm.

Gladstone Primary principal Dave Shadbolt was one of about five people who went to the school gates after hearing of an "incident" on the roadside. He said he saw an "older"man on the ground. "There was just a lot of blood. His eyes were closed, he was just breathing heavily."

Mr Shadbolt said he was aware of another man nearby, being dealt with by police, who had arrived at the scene within minutes.

"By the time we got there he was quite calm. He was close enough, but we weren't really looking at him. We wanted to make sure none of our children came past."

A long-time neighbour of the Patels, Rona Patterson, was appalled by the incident. "Poor old Mr Patel wouldn't hurt a fly," she said.

Mrs Patterson has lived two doors down from the Patels for 21 years and described him as a great neighbour and family man.

Police were still today appealing for anyone who knew anything about the attack to get in touch on (09) 820 5786.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING: Rachel Tiffen, Isaac Davison and Lincoln Tan, with NZPA