Man arrested after street racer assault leaves father of four in coma

A man has been arrested after a father of four was left fighting for his life in hospital after being allegedly attacked and left on a roadside by a group of street racers.

Mark Maclean​ was badly hurt on Friday night on the driveway of his home in Warkworth, north Auckland. He is now in hospital in an induced coma, in a critical but stable condition.

Police late on Monday said a 21-year-old man had been arrested and charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and injuring with intent to injure.

Maclean’s wife, Dereda Lipsey-Maclean,​ said the “the drags” were on the night of the incident and between 100 and 150 vehicles gathered near Hudson Rd, close to their home.

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“We live on a corner that is known for skids, and they just started skirting around our corner,” Lipsey-Maclean said.

“They were being so loud, and we’ve got four children. The youngest are 6 and 10. We were trying to put them to bed.”

She said Mark Maclean confronted the racers and a verbal and physical fight followed.

“My husband was shot in the arm and in the face with what I think is a BB gun. He’s got two puncture wounds in his left hip, his left shoulder and in his cheek.”

Lipsey-Maclean assumed the altercation was over and told her husband to “go for a walk to cool off”.

However, after putting their children to bed, she heard frantic yelling from outside the house. She went out to discover her teenage boy holding Mark Maclean’s head in his arms.

“I went outside to find my husband in the arms of my oldest boy with blood pouring out of his head. They had come back with two other people and some sort of weapon like a baseball bat or a piece of wood,” she said.

Maclean was now in an induced coma at Auckland City Hospital with severe brain injuries.

“He has a brain fracture and he’s had to have brain surgery. They’ve removed part of his skull and he’s now got titanium plates in his skull.

“He also has a fractured eye socket and his jaw needs to be fixed. He’s still in a really critical condition, but he is stable.”

His children had been devastated and crying “a lot” since the incident, she said.

“He is the most amazing man you would ever meet. He would take the shirt off his back for anyone and anything he touches, he excels at. He is a DJ, a roofer, an amazing surfer and overall the most amazing man.

“I just don’t understand how people can do this. To come back and do that to somebody, I mean, where is the humanity? It’s just unbelievable.”

Police said the arrested man would appear in Auckland’s North Shore District Court on Tuesday.

They were not looking for anyone else.

However, they were still calling for witnesses to the event.

“We understand there could have been a number of people who may have been present during this incident, and we encourage anyone who may have CCTV or dashcam footage of the incident itself to please contact police.

“Anyone with footage or information that may assist is asked to contact Police via our 105 phone service or online at https://www.police.govt.nz/use-105, using Update My Report. Please reference file number 221210/6559.”

A Givealittle page has been set up by a friend of the family seeking support.