Mrs Pugh took down the registration number of the vehicle and drove straight to Masterton Central Police Station, shaken and afraid. The Wairarapa Times-Age found the registration number related to a black 1997 Subaru Forester. "I memorised the number plate because I couldn't really do anything else," Mrs Pugh said.
"Sooner or later they're going to kill someone - put them straight in to a power pole or over a bank. Somebody is going to die."
The last Mrs Pugh saw of the turbocharged sports vehicle was its tail lights disappearing down Chapel St as she neared the police station.
Jade Boreham, who works for Mrs Pugh at her Masterton business, said she and partner Tim Logan had been involved in a similar incident at about the same place on SH2 about 11.30 on Thursday night.
Mr Logan was at the wheel, she said, when a blue Nissan Navara utility vehicle lined up behind their car. The couple had feared the worst as their ordeal unfolded.
"He just appeared out of nowhere, almost like he was waiting for someone. It was like an ambush. He came right up behind us and right up next to us and slammed on his brakes. He did that a couple of times," she said.
"He put his headlights on full but when a car came he backed off again and dipped his lights. "
Ms Boreham called 111 and was told a police alert would be broadcast. The couple drove straight to the police station with the "dented and dinged" Nissan in pursuit.
The driver was a large male, possibly Maori, and the vehicle turned off at the northern Masterton roundabout, Ms Boreham said.
A friend told her of a similar incident involving a driver forced to steer into a roadside ditch on the same stretch of highway.
Masterton Police Area Commander Inspector Brent Register said drivers in similar situations should record the registration of the offending vehicle and immediately call 111. "You are best to call as it's happening, so we can come to you".
