Can hurled at woman's ute sparks police hunt

A Tauranga motorist said a fellow driver looked her right in the eye before throwing a partially full can of alcohol at her as he drove towards her.
The 36-year-old woman, who did not wish to be named, was driving a ute along Fraser St, near Yatton Park, when the driver of a red Mazda 323 coming towards her looked her in the eye, leant out the window, took aim and threw the can with force.
The can hit the deck of the ute, splashing the contents over it.
Furious, the woman attempted to turn around to follow the car and record the registration number but the traffic was too heavy.
"I was taking my son to soccer, it was about 4 o'clock. For some reason, I noticed the man coming towards me. He looked at me in the eye. He didn't throw it at the road, he threw it directly at my face," she said.
"The thing was it was so brazen, he didn't care one iota. I don't think he was worried about any consequences."
The woman said she might not have reported the attack had she not read about the the incident at Papamoa on April 11 when 65-year-old Mary Loader was badly injured after being struck in the face by a partially full beer bottle hurled from a passing car.
Prior to Mrs Loader's attack,  a woman allegedly had a partially full can of what was believed to be alcohol thrown at her car in Grange Rd, Otumoetai.
Detective Sergeant Darryl Brazier said since the Mary Loader case, police had received about 10 phone calls reporting similar types of behaviour.
"Luckily no one else has been injured," he said. "People use missiles like that which can cause a lot of damage if they hit someone."
In this latest attack, a woman travelling in the vehicle directly behind the ute saw what happened and flagged the victim down.
The witness said it all happened so quickly but she guessed  the man responsible could be aged anywhere between 20 and 40.
"It was all just such a shock that I didn't actually notice if there was anyone else in the car.
"There were cars everywhere and I'm sure someone would have seen it."
The witness  collected the can, a bourbon and cola mix, from the middle of the road to take to police for fingerprinting.
The driver of the ute also took a photo of the contents of the can splashed on the back of the vehicle.
She called *555 and reported the incident, while the witness called Tauranga Police Station and did the same.
On the way home from her son's soccer practice, the woman drove around some of the streets in Merivale, hoping to spot the vehicle the can had been thrown from from.
If you witnessed this attack or have any information relating to the identity of the offender  contact Tauranga Police on (07) 577 4300.