An elderly man is facing a serious driving charges after allegedly using his car to run down boys who had pranked him.
Police were told a group of children had knocked on the man’s door in Coffs Harbour, NSW about 8.30pm on Saturday before fleeing.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Man facing serious driving charges after allegedly chasing teens
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“A short time later, the occupant of the home allegedly entered his vehicle and followed the e-bike riders in his car,” authorities said.
“The man allegedly mounted a gutter and continued following the boys along a nature strip before crashing into the back of an e-bike, throwing two boys from the bike.”
CCTV from a home showed the moment the boys were struck, with a resident telling 7NEWS the boys were dragged “for probably 15, 20 metres”.
“We opened the door and we see two kids, they were panicking,” the witness said.
“They were cold, very cold and they were shivering as well.
“When we asked what happened, they said somebody tried to kill them.”
An elderly man is facing a serious driving charges after allegedly using his car to run down boys who had pranked him. Credit: 7NEWS The children — aged 11 and 12 — were taken to hospital for treatment.
They were not seriously hurt and have been discharged.
The group had been playing “ding dong ditch” or “knock-run”, which involves knocking on a door or ringing a doorbell before running away before the owner opens it.
“It’s silly and it’s immature but they are immature, they’re children,” one child’s father told 7NEWS.
“That how you learn. You make silly mistakes but it doesn’t warrant you losing your life over knocking on a door and running away.”
‘Shouldn’t have been doing it’ One of the boys’ mothers conceded “they shouldn’t have been knocking on someone’s door”.
“There’s no refuting that at all however the actions that this man took, he made a conscious choice to get in his car and mow them down,” she said.
“He was out to hurt them and that’s shocking and wildly disproportionate to what they’d done.”
A Coffs Harbour man was charged with predatory driving, and driving in a manner that menaces another person.
He was granted bail and will appear in Coffs Harbour Local Court on September 23.