Mum's frustration grows after son hurt in hit-and-run
Brendon Renwick was hit while using the pedestrian crossing at the Carmen and Buchanans Rd intersection where. Photo: Geoff Sloan
Angela Renwick is refusing to give up her fight to identify the driver who injured her son in a hit-and-run after intersection CCTV footage failed to identify the vehicle.
Last week The Star reported 15-year-old Brendon Renwick was hit by a maroon minivan at the intersection of Buchanans and Carmen Rds in the Christchurch suburb Hei Hei.
The Renwicks were frustrated police were taking too long to check the intersection's traffic light footage for the vehicle's licence plate.
A police spokesperson said the intersection's traffic light footage had now been checked but they were 'unable to make out a number plate or any further identifying information from the footage'.
Renwick said the police response was not good enough, and she is calling for a wider review of footage from nearby intersections and businesses which might reveal the licence plate.
'There must be other options here. It's not acceptable for them to just give up.'
She received a call from a police officer on Saturday informing her the CCTV footage was inconclusive.
Renwick urged police to check other nearby cameras but said she received little response.
'She didn't say anything back and just told me they can't see the number plate in footage again,' Renwick said.
The Carmen and Buchanans Rd intersection where Brendon Renwick was hit while using the pedestrian crossing. The driver did not stop and police have been unable to identify the vehicle's licence plate from intersection camera footage. Photo: Geoff Sloan
When contacted by The Star on Tuesday, a police spokesperson did not answer if and why they had not reviewed footage from other intersections.
However, the spokesperson said Renwick should discuss the matter further with police, which she intends to do.
Renwick hopes cameras at intersections along the likely route – such as Yaldhurst, Masham and Russley Rds – could capture the hit-and-run vehicle's licence plate.
She is also meeting with a victim support advocate to discuss what other steps could be taken.
This could include making an Official Information Act request for intersection footage or filing a complaint to the Independent Police Conduct Authority about the response.
Meanwhile, Brendon's health took a turn for the worse last week when concussion-related nausea sent him back to hospital.
He was treated with fluids and has since improved.
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