A neighbour whose house overlooks a popular Dunedin park where a man died following a brutal assault says he feels unsafe going out after dark due to the area being a hot spot for antisocial behaviour.
Police say they responded to reports of a man being assaulted and run over by a vehicle at Unity Park in Eglinton Rd about 7.30pm on Thursday.
A witness who was at the scene confirmed the man was Sean Buis (28), of Dunedin.
The resident said he was at home at the time of the attack but his family was looking after a child at the back of the house and were unaware of the violence happening on the other side of the street.
He said he regretted being unable to offer assistance to the man, who died at the scene despite a passerby trying to revive him with CPR.
Before he and his family moved to Mornington about a year ago they lived in Wakari, which felt safer, he said.
The lookout attracted a lot of "randoms", especially on the weekend, and there were often young people and cars parked up next to each other with loud music playing.
Cars also tended to speed down Eglinton Rd, he said.
He did not know what was happening at the lookout but it was definitely was not family friendly and the behaviour made it uncomfortable for him to go there.
After dark things were worse and he felt unsafe taking his bins out at night.
The death was "horrible", especially because it happened in a family neighbourhood, which was supposed to be safe.
"That’s not acceptable," the resident said.
He believed there needed to be a heavier police presence and security cameras should be installed.
The witness, who requested anonymity, arrived at the scene about three minutes after Mr Buis sustained his fatal injuries.
A friend of Mr Buis at the scene told the witness the deceased was beaten up before being run down by a group in a vehicle.
The friend was pleading with Mr Buis, telling him to stay with them, the witness said.
A police spokeswoman said last night the death of the man was still being treated as unexplained and the exact circumstances around his death were unclear.
Anyone who was in the vicinity of the crime scene at the time was urged to contact police and officers were seeking CCTV footage.
Cordons at the scene would remain in place overnight, the spokeswoman said.
