Driver will likely face charges after hitting man during skid session on Karioitahi Beach

A man was hit trying to stop cars drifting on a busy beach. Photo / Facebook

The alleged driver of a car that struck a man during a skid session on a beach south of Auckland will likely face charges.

Dramatic footage posted to Facebook showed a man sent flying over a car bonnet after confronting boy-racers on Karioitahi Beach on Sunday afternoon.

Manukau Sergeant Dean Borrell told the Herald police had impounded the car and had been speaking to witnesses.

"It is likely that the driver of the vehicle involved will face charges," he said.

A video shared online showed a man approaching a white car, one of two doing burnouts and skids on the busy beach. The man is seen walking towards the cars with a pole, in what appears to be an attempt to stop the boy-racers.

However, instead of stopping, one of the cars ploughs into the man, sending him toppling over the bonnet and on to the windshield. He is carried a few metres down the beach before the car stops.

The video has since been deleted.

Davey Kaumavae filmed the confrontation after watching the drivers doing skids on the beach.

"We had a family fun day and after about 10 minutes of being there I saw three or four boy-racers coming down the hill," he told the Herald.

"Afterward we walked up to see him and if he was all right. There was a lot of blood," Kaumavae added.

Alex Dawson had been at the beach with family and friends and said the boy-racers were very close to hitting people and other cars.

His child was playing with friends - two under the age of 10 - in the water near where the cars were skidding.

"They were sliding around nearly hitting vehicles and they came extremely close to a couple sitting in front of a car [near] where we were."

"The video doesn't show you how close they actually were."

Police said dangerous driving on the beach would not be tolerated as it was putting the public's safety at risk.

"If you witness any dangerous driving on this beach, we urge you to report to police."

The beach was legally classed as a road, Borrell said, but any vehicles using the beach had to have a permit from the council.

"The beach is going to become more crowded with visitors over the summer and police will have dedicated staff patrolling beaches over the busy holiday period.