A truck tyre detached and struck a family's car on the Southern Motorway near the Te Irirangi Drive overbridge on 17 June, leaving two people injured.
Roimata Ironui was travelling southbound with her partner and three children, on their way to the supermarket, when the incident happened at 1.37pm. Ironui manoeuvred left to ensure the tyre hit the driver's side instead of the passenger side where her daughter sat.
The tyre hit the front of the vehicle and activated the airbags, causing friction burns to Ironui's arms, thigh, lower leg and hips. Hospital X-rays revealed swelling but no fractures. Her daughter sustained burns to both arms. The family's seven-year-old son, who has autism, was left with trauma from the incident and needed prescription melatonin from his paediatrician to help him sleep. A four-month-old infant was also in the car.
"The tyre would have taken her life," Ironui said. "I would have preferred it to be me. That's why I made the tyre hit my side of the bonnet."
The truck driver remains unidentified. Senior Sergeant Bill Russell said officers coordinated with camera operators at the Joint Traffic Operations Centre, who reviewed footage extensively, but the crash was not recorded and no other vehicles have been traced. Police informed Ironui that southbound cameras did not show the tyre, indicating it may have bounced into bushes.
The family's vehicle sustained damage and was impounded by police. The car was under finance, and the finance company has sent a mechanic to examine it.
Police are seeking information from anyone who witnessed the incident. Anyone with relevant details can contact police online or by calling 105, quoting reference number 260617/0072.