A 74-year-old man was assaulted and knocked unconscious in a "disgusting" case of road rage in Dunedin.
The man said he was hit twice in the face by the passenger of another car after a minor collision in North Dunedin on Saturday.
He sustained cuts and bruising to his face and the back of his head when he hit the ground.
He had a bad headache yesterday and a sore neck. He had been checked by his GP and was recovering at home.
Senior Sergeant Mel Aitken, of Dunedin, said a 27-year-old man had been charged with assault and would appear in the Dunedin District Court on Friday.
It was a disgusting case of road rage, she said.
"It's disgraceful. Crashes happen. If he's in the wrong, he's in the wrong. But there's better ways of dealing with it."
The elderly man failed to give way while turning right at the intersection of Malvern St and Fulton Rd, she said.
The driver, who declined to be named, told the Otago Daily Times he and his wife were heading toward the Northern Motorway when the accident happened.
"I got out to check if the occupants of the other car were OK, and I was greeted by a man who hit me twice in the face.
"Apparently I went down on the ground - I was knocked unconscious."
His wife screamed at the passenger from the other car to stop punching her husband, for fear the blows would kill him, he said.
It was believed the man was unconscious for about 10 minutes, but an ambulance was not called.
"I woke up covered in blood.
"I didn't feel any of the blows. I was not aware I had been hit - I couldn't comprehend what had happened to me."
He said he was annoyed about the actions of the other driver, but was trying to remain philosophical about the incident.
"I don't think this is the way to treat anyone, let alone someone in their 70s."