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Police have found a stolen vehicle involved in a fatal hit-and-run incident in Lower Hutt early this morning, but they are yet to locate the driver.
One resident said she feels “sick” at what has happened and has lit a candle in memory of the woman who died.
Emergency services were called about 5.50am to the crash scene on Naenae Rd, between Riverside Drive North and Waddington Drive.
A pedestrian was fatally hit by a car and died at the scene. The driver of the vehicle did not stop and immediately left the area.
Police have revealed the car involved was a dark grey Mazda 6 sedan that was stolen from an address in Belmont in the early hours of the morning.
“I urge the driver or any occupant of that vehicle to come forward and speak to us, as we want to understand the events that have led to this tragedy.”
Ryan also appealed to the public to contact police immediately if they have seen the car anywhere in Hutt Valley leading up to the tragedy or afterwards.
“We know the car has been driven around the Hutt Valley for several hours prior to this tragic incident. It was speeding and driving erratically and continued to do so after hitting the victim.
“Following the collision, the vehicle was seen to be smoking heavily and would have been showing visible damage. The way it has been driven would draw significant attention.”
The car was spotted on CCTV footage at the bottom of Wainuiomata Hill just minutes before the crash.
Police are seeking further footage from Naenae Rd between 5.40am and 5.50am.
“At that time, and just afterwards, we know there are people who have driven past and they may have seen or noticed something that can help the investigation,” Ryan said.
“CCTV is crucial in assisting investigators and we ask that anyone in the area please review your footage and contact Police if you haven’t already spoken to us.”
Anyone with information can contact police via 105 referencing case number 231116/3474.
There were about 20 evidence markers scattered across the road over a distance of about 20 metres at the scene this morning.
Several police officers could be seen cordoning off areas of the road, while others in white forensic suits investigated the scene.
Meanwhile, other people at the scene appeared to be making a blessing over the road, and a man was seen splashing water.
The body had been removed from the road and was placed in a vehicle nearby.
One resident in the neighbourhood told NZME she heard a scream earlier this morning, but hadn’t heard any sounds from the collision.
She said by the time she got up to have a look at what was happening, the body was already under a sheet.
Another resident, who lives across the street, said her husband heard a loud bang about 6am. She didn’t hear the bang herself but shortly afterwards said she heard a woman “just screaming on and on”.
Police investigate the scene of the crash. Photo / Mark Mitchell
She lit a candle in her home for the person who died, and said it made her feel “sick” to hear something like this had happened so close.
“I just really feel for the poor person and their family.”
She said police had knocked at her door this morning and asked if they had cameras that may have captured the incident, but the woman did not have any such devices.
“I really hope they catch the person who did this.”
Another neighbour who did not wish to be named told the Herald she had heard a “thud and a fast car” in the early hours of the morning.
”I didn’t think too much of it because we have a few fast cars through here and I just thought they’d hit a rubbish bin or something.”
Once she went to her gate to check out what had happened, she saw the body lying in the road and police swarming the area.
”A few of the neighbours were out on the street and watching, but it’s one of those things where you don’t feel like hanging around because the person is deceased.
”It’s grim. It’s just sobering. I just keep thinking there’s a family that’s been affected - it’s awful to think how long they were lying there but it’s a serious crime scene I suppose so there’s not much you can do about it.”
She estimated the body was in the road for about five hours until the police removed it.
A resident of Waddington Drive, Naenae, Lower Hutt, put concrete blocks outside his home to prevent cars crashing into his fence in 2017. Photo / Melissa Nightingale
“The Serious Crash Unit is investigating, and the road will be closed for some time,” police said in an earlier statement.
Naenae residents Louise and Blair Ansell were living in fear after two separate crashes sent cars flying through their fence and into their front yard on the corner of Waddington Drive and Cole St in 2017.
Less than a month after placing the blocks outside the house, a car crashed into them.
Fed up with incidents caused by speeding drivers, the Ansells put six two-tonne concrete blocks along their berm for protection.
“We feel really unsafe ... I don’t feel so bad about it at night because the kids are inside. I don’t feel like I can let my kids go out and play if it was daytime,” Louise Ansell said at the time.
Blair Ansell said at the time he believed he had saved his children’s lives by putting the barrier up, and he had “no remorse” about placing the blocks there.
