A brawl erupted at about 8.45pm on Lyn Grove in Papamoa. File photo Photo: Google Maps
A woman was seriously injured after being hit by a car during a street fight in Papamoa last night.
The brawl erupted at about 8.45pm, with sticks, garden tools and bats being wielded by a large group of people in Lyn Grove.
More than 20 members of the public called police about fighting and disorder.
Police said several people were seen running through properties as they fled the scene.
One Lyn Grove resident who did not wish to be named said they called the police when they saw people carrying and waving around what looked like fence palings.
"All we could hear were the sounds of cars doing burn-outs. At first we thought people were cheering but then we realised they were yelling at each other and there were people running around with pails of wood."
"It was a bit scary, we've had the odd incident out here before but never anything like this."
"It looked like two [groups of] people were having a big argument."
St John ambulance said the woman is now in Tauranga Hospital in a stable condition.
She suffered a suspected broken leg.
There were several vehicles present and at least one was impounded.
Another Lyn Grove resident, who also asked not to be named, said he thought the violence was gang and drug related.
"There's one house down here that's always got problems going on and that's where it all started.
"The lady that got hit by the car, she lives in that house."
Police could not confirm whether the fight was gang-related or whether the injured woman was a Lyn Grove resident.
The resident said the fight "went on for ages".
"There was somebody chasing somebody and one of them had a gun, it looked like a hand gun.
"The poor lady living in the house out the front has had her fence all smashed in by a car, who's going to pay for that?"
Cordons were put in place at the street on Papamoa Beach, near Tauranga. Police reopened the road about 9.40pm.
The cause of the disorder is being investigated.
Police are appealing for witnesses to the fight.
