The damage on a Rotorua man's car after a motorbike fleeing police crashed into it. Photo / Supplied
A Rotorua man is fed up he has been left to pay to fix his badly damaged car after a motorbike on the run from police smashed into him.
The man, who did not want to be named, was turning into his Pukehangi home on the afternoon of Waitangi Day when he felt a massive bump.
He got out of his car and was abused by two young teenagers who had been riding the motorbike with no helmets and crashed into the back of his car.
"They crashed into me and yet they abused me," he said.
The man then heard police sirens and the teens ran off. They have not yet been found.
He later learned from police the teens had been chased by police, including through parks and reserves.
He is now faced with the possibility his car will be written off. Although he has insurance, his excess is $400 and his insurance company has warned him he is likely to have to pay, even if someone is arrested.
"The system isn't tough enough on them. Kids are stealing cars and going on joy rides all the time."
In another incident, a central Rotorua worker witnessed first hand the dangerous nature of drivers failing to stop for police.
Ankush Joshi from IT Hut on Hinemoa St, near the intersection with Tutanekai St, said he and his customers were shocked to see a car driving at speed on the wrong side of the road through Te Manawa at the end of last year.
Joshi said the scary incident occurred not long after Te Manawa, formerly the City Focus, opened and there were several people around.
The driver came from the Ranolf St end towards the Fenton St end of Hinemoa St, on the wrong side of the road and over the cobbled areas and grass verges.
"It was just so fast ... I came out straight away and thought it was really dangerous. My customers and I were watching it and just thought, 'Oh my God'," he said.
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