About 5.30am she was picking someone up in Wainuiomata and headed back over the hill towards Naenae Rd for another pick-up.
“As I approached, I noticed something on the side of the road.
The vehicle involved is a dark grey Mazda 6 sedan and was stolen from an address in Belmont in the early hours of the morning. Photo / Police
“My daughter jumped out of the van and ran over. She turned, looked at me and said, ‘[a] lady’s dead, I need my jacket’. I jumped out [and] ran over and my daughter was crying and trying to assist with helping with traffic.”
The woman said she was in shock and started looking for something to cover the woman’s body. Her daughter ended up running up to her apartment and bringing back a blanket.
“Police by then cordoned off the area, doing their thing,” she said.
“Naenae Rd and probably many other areas are just crazy, drivers speed past my apartment all day.”
She said one of the victim’s family members lived in her apartment block.
Police said yesterday they had found the car believed to have been involved in the hit-and-run. The dark grey Mazda 6 sedan is said to have hit the female victim on Naenae Rd near Riverside Dr about 5.50am before fleeing the scene.
Detective Inspector Haley Ryan urged the driver to come forward and report to police.
“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.
“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.
Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.
