Witnesses in Shannon say they were shocked and angry after a fleeing driver crashed into several cars near a Matariki whānau event in the small Horowhenua town on Friday.
The driver has since been arrested.
Shannon locals say they were so angry with the man driving the car that it spilled over into violence.
"He got a hiding from the community, a really good hiding," one woman told Newshub.
"A lot of people came out and weren't very happy. He almost hit an elderly woman and her moko(puna) but luckily they got off the road in time," another said.
"Some of our aunties were in shock because they thought their mokopuna had been hit from the view they were looking at," a third told Newshub.
What happened today?
Police say they came across a stolen vehicle around lunchtime in Foxton, but didn't pursue it and instead laid road spikes.
The man in the stolen car then drove about 15 minutes to Shannon.
The man crashed into cars on Grey Street as he was avoiding the road spikes, but kept driving until he hit a car outside a family Matariki event.
Police say an officer suffered a head injury while trying to apprehend the man.
As for the community, they're pretty shaken by all this, as they were simply celebrating and heralding in the Māori New Year.
The driver is now in custody, and Police say the incident is over.
As for the Matariki event though, the local council said it's been cancelled due to the incident.
