Man badly hurt in bid to stop litterer

Police have located the driver and want to speak to witnesses. Photo / Martin Sykes

Hamilton victim is in hospital with serious head injuries after being flung from a car bonnet.

A Hamilton man was so upset with a motorist dumping rubbish near his home that he ended up on the bonnet of the culprit's car in a bid to stop him fleeing.

But moments later the 41-year-old lost his grip and fell off the moving vehicle on to the road, suffering serious head injuries.

The incident unfolded on Thursday night when the Hamilton East resident confronted an older man as he dumped the rubbish on vacant council-owned land opposite Brookfield Accommodation inDey St.

The driver is understood to have retrieved the boxes he was dumping and tried to leave the scene when the victim, a resident of the hostel, stood in front of the silver Nissan car and told the man to stay while he called police.

But the driver drove off as the victim grabbed the bonnet of the car. They went down Dey St and turned left into Naylor St.

Metres around the corner, before the intersection with Fox St, the victim fell off the car face-first and rolled several metres while the older man drove off.

A witness, who did not want to be named, said her friend was first on the scene, closely followed by her.

"She was the first one there and ... it was horrible. The guy had been on the car yelling 'call the police, call the police'. Things must have spiralled out of control quickly."

Across the road at the Challenge Naylor St service station, forecourt attendant Ben Lane had just finished serving someone.

A colleague called 111 while Mr Lane rushed over to the injured man with jackets to keep him warm, putting him in the recovery position.

"He was bleeding quite profusely from his ear. It was quite sad because he's a regular here, and I was just chatting to him a few days before."

Mr Lane did not know the man's name but said he often bought cigarettes at the service station.

Brookfield Accommodation manager Adam Yates said he lived at the hostel alone and was studying at the University ofWaikato.

"He's a nice guy. He's conscientious but we don't know what happened because he hasn't been able to explain it."

He said the man's family lived in England and were due in Hamilton yesterday.

The victim was last night in a critical condition in Waikato Hospital's intensive care unit. It is understood he has a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain and is in a coma.

Mr Yates said the vacant council land, earmarked for a roading project, had rubbish dumped on it frequently, and it was an eyesore which the council had to keep cleaning up.

Hamilton police Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Andy BuBear said the driver was found at his home a short time later.

"While we have spoken to the driver, we would still like any members of the public who witnessed the incident to make contact with us."

The driver has not been charged.

Witnesses are urged to contact Hamilton Police on (07) 858-6200.