The Cambridge grandmother who smashed her car into one used by ram-raiders is now facing a potential $10,000 bill to get her vehicle fixed.
The 63-year-old woman was out for an early morning coffee run on Easter Monday, when she witnessed an in-progress ram-raid outside a Spark store on Victoria Street.
“It’s not happening,” she thought to herself before racing over the median strip and ramming the ram raiders, sending them scurrying out of town - only able to steal a demo phone.
Since then, the woman has been nicknamed “rammy granny” and has been cooling down, assessing the damage following the incident.
It now looks like she’ll have to pay upwards of $10,000 to get her car fixed, and it’s unlikely she’ll get insurance coverage.
Now, a Givealittle page has been set up for the woman, aiming to cover her repairs through the community.
The page was established by the Hamilton and Districts Crime Information Group, with one of its members, Wendy Cooper, telling 1News that their aim was to support the victims of the crime.
“We’ve seen a gap in the people that take up victim support and the smaller people who just having things happen to them that are inconvenient.
“We spoke to a dairy owner who had his front door shut, but his window was still smashed; when we asked why he hadn’t fixed his window, he said the insurance excess would be too high.
“So when we heard about ‘rammy granny,’ we had a lot of people saying we need to start a Giveallitle page, so we did.”
Cooper said the donations would have originally covered the cost of the woman's repairs, with the rest going to other victims of crime in the area. However, upon learning how expensive it would be, they decided all the donations would go to her.
“She can decide whether she gives it to other victims or not.
“She’s quite happy to give some of the money to the guy whose car was stolen for the ram raid.”
So far, over $2000 has been raised for the heroic grandmother, with donators voicing their support.
“How could I not show my support for this wonderful nana!” one donor wrote.
Another called her a “great New Zealander”.
Cooper said the woman has been “overwhelmed” by the kindness of people supporting her, and while she wishes to remain anonymous, is grateful for it.
“She’s such a wonderful lady and is just so overwhelmed by how big it’s gotten.
“She made a split decision to stop a crime, not a thought of the consequences.
“She’s very grateful.”
Cooper said the community reaction to the woman’s actions has been great, with people saying that somebody is finally doing something about crime in the area.
“People don’t feel like anything’s being done, so to see her do that is amazing.
“It’s something a lot of people wish they could do.”
Cooper said she hopes the fundraiser can evolve and be used as a way to support the victims of crime.
“We want to help take the stress off the families that have been burdened with costs through no fault of their own,” the Hamilton and Districts Crime Information Group's Facebook page says.
SHARE ME