A Bay of Plenty mother says she was pursued for five kilometres and repeatedly rammed by another driver in a Christmas Day road rage attack that left her vehicle undriveable and her children terrified.
Rachel, who asked to be identified by her first name only, was driving with her two sons to a family Christmas lunch when the attack unfolded at around 2.30pm on the road between Te Puke and State Highway 2.
The ordeal began at a roundabout on Jocelyn St in Te Puke, where a driver in a silver minivan drove up beside Rachel instead of using the correct turning lane, nearly colliding with her vehicle as the lanes merged.
"Out of fright, I had to swerve to avoid being hit, and I tooted," Rachel told 1News.
"I didn't lay on the horn like some people do, but I did toot."
What happened next escalated into a sustained attack, she said.
After turning down a side street, the driver allegedly waited at the intersection with King St before pursuing Rachel's car.
"He gets right up my ass, so close that I couldn't see anything but his windscreen," Rachel told 1News.
"And then he nudged my car, like you know what you see in the movies and stuff, with people nudging cars from behind."
Rachel's older son attempted to take photos while her youngest called 111 as the incident continued through Waitangi and onto the open road.
Photos provided to 1News show the vehicle following extremely closely behind Rachel's car.
"He was ramming me constantly from behind, and I'm just trying to keep control of the car," she said.
"I did actually fear that he was going to ram us right off the road and we're going to roll."
The attack reached its peak as Rachel slowed to turn into the driveway of her destination.
The driver swung toward the centre line and aimed directly at her door, she said.
"I just, instinctively, I put my foot down, and so, he actually hit the back corner of my car, right where my son was sitting. Both my sons saw his two wheels lifted off the ground as he ricocheted off my car, and then sped off up the road."
The car was left undriveable, with significant rear damage including a smashed tail light, ripped bumper and a tyre torn off its rim.
Rachel and her children were shaken but only mildly physically hurt in the incident.
"He could clearly see into the back of my car that I had two children in the car," she said.
Police confirmed they were called to a two-vehicle crash on Te Puke Highway, Paengaroa, about 2.30pm on Christmas Day.
"There do not appear to have been any serious injuries. Inquiries into the circumstances of the crash are ongoing," a spokesperson told 1News.
Anyone with relevant information was urged to contact police on 105.
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