‘Firebomb’ destroys Dannevirke family’s vehicle: ‘We watched our $100,000 ute go up in flames’

A Dannevirke family watched helplessly as their 2022 ute burned after four masked men threw a “firebomb” into the vehicle.

Annette Lilo and her family live on Tennyson St in the Tararua town. About 3am on Saturday they heard their 2022 Ford Ranger’s alarm. The ute was parked on the street outside their home.

Lilo’s daughter was awake in the lounge and after the alarm stopped, she put the security light on and went to bed.

Annette Lilo's 2022 Ford Ranger was set on fire by what her daughter described as a firebomb thrown by masked men in Dannevirke. Photo / Annette Lilo

Lilo said at 3.45am, her daughter heard a car on the street. On edge after the earlier alarm, she investigated.

Lilo said her daughter told her she saw the lights of a gold sedan coming down the street.

“She saw the car pull up next to my ute and saw four men in the car. They all had masks on and one was sitting out the back window.

“She saw them throw something really big at my ute, heard a bang and then saw orange light inside the ute.”

Lilo was woken by her daughter and ran out to the street, where she could see a smashed back passenger window of the ute.

She was horrified when she realised her vehicle and everything inside it was on fire.

“Oh my god, I’m watching my ute burn. We watched our $100,000 ute go up in flames.”

Lilo said the Ranger’s back tyres exploded and the only thing not completely destroyed was the motor.

“The whole ute is disintegrated, there is not even a dashboard left on the inside, it burnt down to the bare metal.”

Lilo, who has lived in Dannevirke all her life, felt the fire was random, rather than a targeted attack, and said she felt it was likely done by out-of-towners as she didn’t think anyone in her community would have done it.

Police say they were called to a vehicle fire on Tennyson St, Dannevirke over the weekend. They are investigating.

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings and Central Hawke’s Bay newsrooms. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.