Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Beer can thrown at woman's car 'like a missile'

By by Michele McPherson
Bay of Plenty Times·
16 Apr, 2010 07:00 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A woman whose harrowing ordeal is the subject of an email doing the rounds in the Western Bay has come forward confirming a can of beer was thrown at her car, "so hard it was like a missile".
The story has emerged as local police hunt for the person responsible for
throwing a partially full beer bottle at Papamoa grandmother Mary Loader, leaving the 65-year-old with horrific facial injuries.
The woman featuring in the email, who wished to to be known only as Robyn, was driving a friend home on Grange Rd in Otumoetai about 12.45am on March 28 when a car overtook her vehicle at speed, throwing something at her car as it passed.
"All we felt was the thump, thump, thump on the car," Robyn said.
"I was doing 50km/h and he overtook me at the greatest of speed."
The car forced an oncoming vehicle on to the grass verge, she said. Robyn carried on along the residential street until she noticed a car, which she believes was the same vehicle, pulled to the side of the road with its lights off.
Standing nearby was a man who hurled a can of drink, possibly beer, at her car, breaking the black frame around the vehicle's passenger window.
"We're very lucky, if the can had come through the window, it would have hit her [Robyn's friend] in the head," she said.
"It was thrown with absolute force.
"I think that had we stopped, we may have been attacked.
"It's just very sad that people can't go out at night."
After driving into a cul-de-sac to compose herself, Robyn dropped her friend off and returned home, where she called police to report the attack.
When she checked her vehicle, Robyn found the broken frame around the window and chips in the paint which she had since had to claim insurance to fix.
There was liquid spilled on the car - Robyn said the liquid smelled like alcohol.

Robyn was unable to provide police with a description of the vehicle, other than it being a navy or black sedan. She also did not get the vehicle's registration number.
Tauranga Police Senior Sergeant Ross Bielby confirmed the incident had been reported to police but said without a registration number or description of the vehicle, it was difficult to find those responsible.
Robyn was unsure who wrote and circulated the email outlining the incident as a warning to women not to stop should a similar attack happen to them.
She said the section of the email which referred to police telling her that throwing beer cans at cars was part of a new way gangs were initiating members was incorrect.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

04 Jul 02:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

Bay of Plenty Times

'A f****** ugly mess': Gang boss' text after fatal hotbox attack on mate of 20 years

04 Jul 12:24 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

04 Jul 02:00 AM

Peter was trapped under a tractor for hours on his Mangakino farm.

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

'A f****** ugly mess': Gang boss' text after fatal hotbox attack on mate of 20 years

'A f****** ugly mess': Gang boss' text after fatal hotbox attack on mate of 20 years

04 Jul 12:24 AM
Traffic concerns grow as Tauriko roading developments advance

Traffic concerns grow as Tauriko roading developments advance

03 Jul 11:48 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP