An Auckland man is pleading for help to find his missing dog after an alleged hit-and-run in Paremoremo left his mother and her friend injured during a Sunday morning walk.
Emergency services were called to Attwood Rd, Paremoremo at around 7.10am on Sunday to reports two pedestrians had been struck by a white ute while they were walking their dogs.
St John said it responded with two ambulances and one manager to the scene.
“Our crews assessed and treated two patients, one in a serious condition who was transported to Auckland City Hospital, and one in a moderate condition who was transported to North Shore Hospital,” a spokesperson said.
Sergeant Jason Cleeton said police were working to identify the driver of the vehicle.
“The ute was travelling on Attwood Rd towards Paremoremo Rd. It sustained some damage in the crash, which will likely be noticeable.”
Mitchell Prouse told 1News it was “just flight mode” when he got the call.
“I chucked some shorts and a shirt on and just ran out of the door barefoot; I didn’t even think to get the car.”
The pair, who walked the road with their dogs almost everyday for the past 20 years, had been walking on the white line next to the road when they were hit, he said.
“Mum went airborne and landed in a ditch, and Sue in front got hit and thrown to the side. It was shocking when I saw Mum in the ditch, and I thought she was paralysed, and then it was just rage.
“The guy left and both of them could have been dead.”
The 27-year-old said his mother had several broken ribs, a lacerated liver, and lower fractures to her spine.
“It’s going to be a road to recovery, I’m counting the blessings right now because it could have been so much worse.”
Sue’s dog was taken to veterinary intensive care with serious injuries, but Prouse family’s dog, a Huntaway cross named Luna, was yet to be found.
Prouse said the neighbourhood had been “awesome” in helping the search for Luna.
“I was away until about 1.30ish, and by the time I got back, there were still people walking the streets.”
He urged people to contact police if they knew anything.
“There’s only around 200 houses down here, someone knows where this vehicle came from. If you’ve left at around 7 in the morning, you either live here or you were here last night.”
Anyone with information about the vehicle or its driver, or who witnessed the incident, should contact police on 105.
