High profile boyracer incidents in 2009

File photo / Herald on Sunday

Boyracers were in the spotlight this year after a number of high-profile incidents:

January 30, Christchurch:

Hundreds of boy racers surrounded a police car, damaging it with bottles and air rifle pellets.

A lone police sergeant, Nigel Armstrong, was called to an address on Wigram Road.

Upon entering he was immediately surrounded and blocked in by a large gathering of boy racers.

There were estimated to be 100 vehicles and around 300 people.

The driver's side window of the patrol car was shot with an air rifle. Bottles were also thrown at Mr Armstrong's car, smashing the windows. He was not harmed.

April 9, North Shore, Auckland:

A teen's leg was amputated after she was hit by a car racing down a dead-end street.

Two vehicles were racing down a steep dead end street in Glenfield. One slowed as the driver knew the street was coming to an end.

The other did not. The car hit a 17-year-old friend of the driver, who sitting in park at the end of the street, clipping her leg. Her leg was amputated below the knee.

May 27, Christchurch International Airport:

Boy racers trapped and attacked a lone female security guard near Christchurch International Airport.

About 100 boy racers used their cars to box in the middle-aged Aviation Security Service officer's car as she made a routine check of the airport's perimeter.

Some of the offenders approached her car, smashing the driver's window and two passenger windows with bottles.

The woman went to drive away, a car pulled in front of her, while others followed behind. She called for help and escaped uninjured.

July 30, Invercargill:

An illegal street race left three teenagers dead and another seriously injured after a modified Honda Civic slammed into a concrete wall at high speed.

The driver was 19 and the other passengers 16.

Police said the incident happened during an evening of illegal street racing within the town with another vehicle.

September 12, Warkworth:

A Toyota Altezza lost control while racing and killed a motorcyclist.

The Toyota, racing a Subaru, lost control on a moderate right hand bend, crossed the centre line and hit an oncoming motorbike head-on.

The motorcyclist died at the scene.

September 18, Rotorua:

A peaceful park-up to protest against pending legislation turned ugly after the gathering in Rotorua got out of hand.

The park-up attracted more than 230 cars and around 900 people to a central city carpark. However the group then moved south of the city, for drag racing and skids, and started throwing bottles at police cars when they arrived.

Thirty-one boyracers faced charges ranging from breach of liquor ban to possession of methamphetamine (P) and sustained loss of traction.

- NZHERALD STAFF