Auckland woman’s terrifying experience being followed by swerving pink-stickered van

An Auckland mother has described the terrifying moment a pink-stickered van swerving back and forth came within inches of hitting her car full of children.

The woman was driving down the Dome Valley Highway last Friday with three children in her car when the van pulled on to State Highway 1 behind them and began driving erratically.

“When I drove past the Dome Valley Cafe, he came out of the blue,” she told the Herald.

“I couldn’t speed up because it was downhill and everyone was trying to put their brakes on.

“[I thought] he was trying to overtake, but there is a barrier along the Dome Valley, and it’s a one-lane passageway, so how could you ever try and overtake.

“I was in the middle and he was trying to charge on my left and right. It was pretty tense.”

The woman said the vehicle was “pink-stickered”, meaning it was unsafe and not to be driven on the road, and there was an unrestrained young teen in the front seat.

She estimated the driver came within inches of hitting the rear bumper.

“I could see he was wearing sunglasses, and he was having fun like it was a normal thing to do for him,” she said.

An Auckland woman driving through Dome Valley suffered a terrifying experience when a van began swerving back and forth behind her and came close to hitting her car.

“My daughter was riding in the back, so she must have seen how close he got. I imagine five to 10 inches away.”

She estimated the whole ordeal went on for five minutes.

The woman’s husband posted details from the encounter on a local Facebook page and received replies from other members who had encountered the same driver.

“Was driving exactly the same way yesterday about 6pm heading north at start of Toll Rd, swerved across in front of someone at the Ōrewa exit, took said exit then come back onto the mway then cut me off for no reason,” one person said.

A police spokesperson said they received a driving complaint on the afternoon of February 28 from that area.

“Waitematā Road Policing staff will be following up with the complainant from the original incident.

“As part of this, further enquiries will be made with the registered owner of the vehicle. From there, Police will take any appropriate action necessary.”

David Williams is an Auckland-based Multimedia Journalist who joined the Herald in 2023. He covers breaking news and general topics.

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