A teenager is in Dunedin Hospital after being hit in the head with a hammer following an alleged road rage incident in Mornington.
Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond said police stopped a vehicle travelling along Princes St about 2pm on Wednesday after noticing the passenger was bleeding from the nose and head.
Officers put the heavily bleeding 16-year-old in their patrol car and rushed him to hospital.
Meanwhile, officers went to arrest the alleged culprit, another 16-year-old.
The incident started in Jetty St about 1.30pm when a Mazda driven by a 16-year-old with three passengers, including a baby, allegedly hit a Mercedes-Benz before fleeing the scene.
The crash was witnessed by the 16-year-old victim, who was driving a Subaru with his 20-year-old friend in the passenger seat.
Both the Mercedes-Benz and Subaru occupants followed the Mazda to McCrea St, Mornington, Snr Sgt Bond said.
Everybody came to a stop and the 16-year-old driving the Subaru was struck in the head with a hammer, police said.
As vehicles left the scene, a Toyota RAV4 parked on the street was damaged.
The 20-year-old drove the Subaru from the scene with the 16-year-old victim in the passenger seat before they were stopped by police, who then transported him to hospital.
The 20-year-old followed and when they stopped, police advised him the Subaru would be seized as evidence because it was involved in the alleged assault.
At that point, the man tried to remove a bag from the vehicle.
Police checked the bag and found 70g of cannabis, Snr Sgt Bond said.
The man was arrested and charged with possession of cannabis for supply.
The victim is understood to still be in hospital after undergoing surgery on Wednesday night.
The alleged attacker appeared in the Dunedin Youth Court yesterday.
A second 16-year-old from the Mazda allegedly assaulted the people from the Mercedes-Benz.
He was arrested and charged with common assault and will appear in Dunedin Youth Court on Tuesday.
Police want to hear from anyone who has dash cam or video footage.
