A Napier motorist took road rage to the next level yesterday when he was stopped for a routine police vehicle check.
Acting sergeant Shane Rowland said at about 9.30am, Napier police pulled over a vehicle on Ellison Road.
But what followed was far from another traffic stop.
"The male driver of the vehicle was driving without a valid driver's license," he said. "On hearing that the vehicle he was driving was to be impounded, he took a dive bottle out of his car."
Police said the driver allegedly threatened to damage property with the dive bottle. After attempts and warnings by police for him not to carry out the threats he lost his temper.
"He ignored the warnings and threw the dive bottle through the windscreen of the police vehicle," said Mr Rowland.
No fellow motorists or police staff were injured, but police said the man's actions required other patrol vehicles to assist at the incident, leaving fewer units available to respond to other crime over the long weekend. The driver will appear in Napier District Court on Wednesday on charges relating to intentional damage and driving matters.
