By Krissy Moreau
Boy racers are in the spotlight again after one male was killed and the other put in hospital. The pair were struck when the group they were with were congregating in the Christchurch suburb of Hornby.
It's one of two alleged hit-and-run incidents in Christchurch over the weekend, the other hospitalising 28-year-old Blair Vinson, struck by a car in the central city.
As paramedics tried to save a life, onlookers on the stretch of road known for street racing fought back tears as one of their own died from a hit-and-run.
A 3 News cameraman captured the audio immediately afterwards: “One person probably flew 50 metres – that's the deceased.”
Police have reported that two vehicles were travelling in the same direction on the strip of Shands Rd in the Christchurch suburb of Hornby. One of the vehicles hit two pedestrians standing beside the road.
“We can't say at this stage that they were involved in racing,” says Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Murton. “It was a 100km/h zone so it could simply have been an overtaking manoeuvre that went horribly wrong.”
The onlookers gathered after the incident. The survivor, a male in his 20s, was taken to hospital with a leg injury.
“It sounded like there was a crowd of people,” says Hornby local Nick Macpherson. “I heard a guy yahooing.”
Mr Macpherson says it was an accident waiting to happen.
“Usually early hours of the morning, particularly in the weekend, you always hear them hooning. You can always hear them ripping out down the road.”
Police have been scouring the scene for evidence and are looking for the two vehicles involved.
“We're looking in particular for the red Toyota – small older-style Toyota,” says Det Snr Sgt Murton. “It will have frontal damage.”
Earlier this weekend, another hit-and-run put 28-year-old Blair Vinson in hospital with a broken leg, a broken ankle and a shattered jaw. Messages of support have poured on to his Facebook page.
He was involved in an altercation outside a Burger King on Moorhouse Ave at 3am yesterday. The car accelerated at Vinsen and drove over him before speeding off.
“We will find out who that driver is. We're following very positive leads.”
Police aren't having as much luck with the Hornby hit-and-run drivers and are appealing to the public for any information.
3 News