Upper Hutt steamroller rampage: Man hit by fleeing car broke leg in four places

A Kāpiti man's leg was snapped in four places when he was run over by a car trying to flee a rampaging road roller in Upper Hutt.

The 23-year-old, who wanted only to be known as Dylan, had to be rushed to safety in the boot of a car after the horrifying incident in the early hours of Saturday morning.

A 47-year-old Porirua man is accused of using the roller to damage a number of cars at a boy racer meet in Silverstream, at the site of what's believed to be a new subdivision.

"I was just out at the drags, really, just having a good time with all my mates, and then we just saw a dozer start up," Dylan told the Herald.

The roller started ramming cars, so Dylan and his friends started heading towards their car to get it away from the machine.

"All of a sudden I was upside down.

Cars were destroyed in the rampage in the early hours of Saturday morning. Photo / Supplied

"It was somebody that was about to get hit by the roller that hit me. He was fleeing from the roller and I was the innocent bystander at the time."

Not realising he was hurt, Dylan tried to stand back up and immediately fell to the ground.

He lay on the ground screaming for help, then was picked up by somebody and "chucked into the boot of a car".

He was then transferred to a friend's car and rushed to hospital, where it was confirmed the bones in his leg had broken in four places.

"The pain was through the roof," he said.

X-rays show the serious breaks in Dylan's leg. Photo / Supplied

"My knee was facing left, my shin was still upwards, and my foot was doing whatever it felt like."

Dylan was put on morphine as emergency department staff worked to straighten the leg.

"I was in tears, I would have been in a good, like, 17 [out of 10] pain rating at that stage.

"It was definitely my worst break I've ever had."

He then had to go through several hours of surgery to add a rod and screws to his leg. He faces at least two months recovery.

Dylan is now struggling with the boredom of being unable to do anything, having been a fairly active person before the incident.

"I've had people come to see me, which is obviously put me in a better headspace. I can't go out and do what I normally do with my friends ... I don't know what to do with myself."

One woman described being dragged away from her car before the roller crushed it against a pole. Photo / Supplied

Another victim of the incident said the car enthusiast scene was "literally a big family" who enjoyed meeting up and showing off their cars.

"It does suck that there can be a couple of people that do ruin it for everyone but that doesn't make us all bad," she said.

The man accused of the roller incident has been charged with endangering transport and drink driving. He has interim name suppression and will reappear in court in August.