Video has captured the moment a young man repeatedly kicked a delivery van in a violent outburst at a Tauranga intersection after an electric scooter joyride went wrong.
The incident took place on Wednesday afternoon at the intersection of Cameron Rd and 23rd Ave in Gate Pā.
Police said they were called around 2.20pm after a report of a person behaving aggressively and kicking vehicles on Cameron Rd.
“Police responded and one person was taken into custody – inquiries are ongoing, and charges are being considered," the spokesperson said.
A witness who was with her 4-year-old child at the time said the young man was allegedly driving an electric scooter recklessly on the road before the incident unfolded in broad daylight.
“He’d been riding around on it like a complete idiot, cutting off the cars and everything like that,” witness Keely Hutchings said.
She told the Herald before she began to video, about 50m back from the intersection, the teenager had allegedly cut the DHL delivery driver off on Anzac Rd.
Hutchings said the DHL van almost hit the teenager, and the driver was forced to slam on his brakes to avoid him.
“The postie shouted out his window to say watch out, then he must have shouted something back, and the postie pulled over to explain what he just said to him.
“The young guy decided that instead of letting the postie out of his van, he was going to try and kick his door to close the door on the postie,” Hutchings said.
She said one of the young man’s kicks completely missed, which made him look “like a complete twit in the middle of the road”.
Another member of the public in a different work van also saw the attack unfold.
“He jumped on his scooter and rode away quick as possible because he knew he was going to get a hiding,” Hutchings said.
A young man was caught violently kicking a delivery van in an outburst at a Tauranga intersection. Photo / Supplied
A DHL spokesperson said the courier driver was okay and was not physically harmed during the incident.
“It’s been reported that the individual filmed kicking the van was weaving through traffic on a scooter. After our courier asked him to be careful, he returned while the van was stopped at a red light,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said situations like this are uncommon, but they do highlight the reality that couriers can face while out on the road each day.
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