Ponsonby petrol station bashing: Off-duty paramedic comes to rescue, police fail to respond

A Ponsonby petrol station manager assaulted at work is frustrated police didn’t respond to calls for help from his rescuer - off-duty paramedic Alice Tolich.

Ronark Patel, 28, was working alone as night manager at the BP 2go in Jervois Rd two weeks ago when a man he describes as “highly agitated” asked to use the bathroom.

CCTV footage obtained by the Herald shows the man leaving the bathroom and repeatedly throwing punches at Patel.

Man assaulting Ronark Patel,the manager at BP 2go in Ponsonby. Patel is frustrated the police didn't show up.

“The attack was unprovoked ... I said, ‘take what you want, but he kept punching me like a boxer... he was very aggressive and hit me in the eye with a metal ring. I was terrified he might blind me,” Patel said.

Off-duty paramedic, Alice Tolich, 33, said she was on her way back to the car after dinner with her husband, Ben, when she heard screams.

Alice Tolich and her husband Ben. Alice is a paramedic for Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter and was off-duty when she confronted a man assaulting Ronark Patel at BP 2go in Ponsonby.

The Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter paramedic - who also works part-time for Hato Hone St John - saw Patel trying to defend himself and leaped in to help.

“My husband was shocked I got involved but being a paramedic you are inoculated against stress. When the man approached me, I was frightened and thought I’d put myself in a stupid position - what if he had a knife? He yelled, ‘Don’t call the police or I will kill.’ He was aggravated and off his nut to be honest, I think he was on a stimulant, maybe methamphetamine,” Tolich said.

Patel says he had tried calling the police earlier, but he had difficulty seeing out of his right eye which was bleeding, and his hands were covered in blood.

Tolich said she phoned 111 twice for help.

“I said we need an ambulance and the police immediately. I know ambulance communications (comms) can dispatch messages to the police.”

Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter paramedic, Alice Tolich guarded the door and stood between Ronark Patel and the man who attacked him at Ponsonby's BP 2go petrol station.

Patel claims neither the police nor ambulance responded to calls for help.

“Why call the police when they don’t turn up? The Ponsonby police station is only 1 kilometre away, they clearly think this incident was not big enough for them. Does someone have to die before they take any notice?” Patel says.

Tolich guarded the door and stood between Ronark and the man.

“I told Ronark to shut the doors - the man looked like he was coming back to give him another bash or give me a bash. I said, ‘Go away, go away’ and tried to de-escalate the situation. He went to his car, revved it and looked like he might ram raid the BP. Then he swerved at the last second and drove off like a maniac,” Tolich said.

CCTV footage shows as the man left he yelled, “That’s what happens when you don’t let me use the f***ing toilet. Delete the f***ing video.”

Tolich was worried Patel had lost his eye. “He looked terrible ... I was concerned his vision would be threatened.” A medical examination showed Patel had suffered fractures to his orbital bone.

Ronark Patel, the night manager at BP 2GO on Jervois Rd. He was viciously assaulted and worried he could lose his right eye. Photo / Michael Craig.

Tolich comforted Patel and tended to his injuries while they waited for first responders. She grabbed Panadol off the shelves for pain relief and used tissues to soak up the blood.

The owner of the petrol station, who the Herald has agreed to call Kumar, says he fears for the safety of his staff and customers. When Kumar heard Patel had been attacked he drove from Papakura to Ponsonby in half an hour.

Assault victim Ronark Patel shows Alice Tolich his eye injury. Tolich, a paramedic, was off-duty when she confronted a man who assaulted Patel. Photo / Jason Oxenham.

After 50 minutes waiting for first responders, Tolich suggested Kumar should drive Patel to Auckland Hospital himself.

“No one came, I thought this is ridiculous. I rang the police to say they could interview Ronark there,” she said.

Inspector Wayne Kitcher, Area Prevention manager, Auckland City West Police said in a statement:

“At the time the incident was reported, the offender had left the petrol station and units in the immediate area were attending other priority incidents at the time.

“Subsequently our 111 call taker had been advised the victim had been transported by private vehicle to hospital.

At the time Police were not able to make contact with either the store or victim to ascertain what had occurred or gather further evidence.

A job had been logged in another part of Auckland to follow up at an address linked to a nominated vehicle.

However, as the victim had not been spoken to at that time, a decision was to prioritise making inquiries with them first.

This inquiry job was mistakenly resulted as ‘k1′ (no further Police action required) in the dispatch system, out of human error, but our inquiries were already underway at this point.

We will continue to keep the victim and the store manager updated on progress.”

Andy Everiss, District Operations Manager, Hato Hone St John said in a statement that staff was dispatched to the incident within 11 minutes of first being called.

Ambulance staff communicated with police and paramedics waited nearby for the scene to be safe. While parademics waited near the Jervois Road scene, they were required to respond to another “higher priority” incident. By the time this incident was resolved Hato Hone St John was told the victim at Jervois Road had been transported privately to hospital, he said.

Kumar said Tolich’s actions were heroic.

“Alice is an angel from god. I’ve had this business for seven years and nothing like this has ever happened ... We can’t sleep, seeing those images of Ronark being beaten is like a horror movie. We are lucky no customers were hurt but I feel guilty Ronark was,” Kumar said.

Ronark Patel, the manager at Ponsonby's BP 2go reunites with Alice Tolich, the "angel" paramedic who came to his rescue and tended to his injuries. Photo / Jason Oxenham.

Two weeks on, Patel is back at work. He has stitches around his eye, his vision is blurry and he has difficulties looking down. He says he is still waiting for an eye operation and also an update from the police.

Ronark Patel, Ponsonby's BP2GO manager says he doesn't feel safe at work knowing the man who assaulted him hasn't been charged. Photo / Jason Oxenham.

When the Herald spoke to him, he was frustrated and worried the man who attacked him hadn’t been charged.

“Why the police have not charged him I don’t know. We gave them the car registration and nothing has happened. I am scared the man will come back, what will he do to me next time? If he’s not caught, he could come back and hurt me. It is not safe.”

Two days ago Police said they executed a search warrant in Ōtāhuhu and arrested an 18-year-old man. He has been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and threatening to kill. He is expected in the Auckland District Court next week.

Carolyne Meng-Yee is an Auckland- based investigative journalist. She worked for the Herald on Sunday in 2007-2011 and joined the rejoined the Herald in 2016. She was previously a commissioner at TVNZ and an award-winning current affairs producer for 60 Minutes, 20/20 and Sunday.