Other Stuff
Elderly rider oblivious to street fight in his wake
19 May 2006
By KAY BLUNDELL
An elderly man riding on his mobility scooter was oblivious that fear for his
welfare sparked a street scuffle in Paraparaumu resulting in six arrests.
Acting Detective Sergeant Ross McKay said a bizarre string of events was set off
by two boys, aged 12 and 14, drinking outside a Kapiti Rd flat and harassing the
scooter rider as he passed on Tuesday afternoon.
One of the boys removed the man's walking stick from his basket and dropped it
on the ground and the other boy picked it up and put it back.
Mr McKay said the man – who later described the boys as "cheeky" – rode away
unperturbed.
But three women driving past, who saw the incident and recognised the man on the
scooter, decided to reprimand the boys.
Two of the women, aged in their 20s, got out of the car and told the boys off
for hassling an older man, demanded they apologise and confiscated a bottle of
alcohol.
The boys verbally abused them and one boy reported the incident to other
partygoers, Mr McKay said. One of his older brothers, who was drunk, kicked the
women's car and hurled abuse at them. Then three young drunk women from the
party joined the fray, punching one woman in the face and slamming the open car
door against the other.
AdvertisementAdvertisementA middle-aged man saw the commotion and rushed to
defend the women. He grabbed the older brother, which prompted three other male
partygoers to attack him. All three went crashing through a nearby fence.
About 20 police and ambulance officers arrived at the same time as one of the
young women believed to have been involved in the attack punched a young man
because she believed he had stolen her cigarettes, Mr McKay said.
All the while the elderly man continued on his way, unaware of the bedlam in his
wake.
One of the women who reprimanded the boys suffered bruising, the other mouth
injuries. The man who came to their rescue needed stitches for cuts on his head.
Three men, aged 21, 20 and 18, and three women aged 25, 18 and 16, will appear
in Porirua District Court and Youth Court on assault charges next week