Driver allegedly attacked with hammer

A Sydney driver allegedly attacked by a man with a hammer on his way to work has credited his watch for saving him from a broken wrist.

The driver, who wishes to remain anonymous, was driving into the carpark at the Sky City building on Lexington Drive, Bella Vista, in Sydney’s northwest, about 9.40am last Friday when he was confronted by a man yielding a hammer.

A heated exchange broke out when the man, described as being in his 60s with grey hair, allegedly stepped out in front of the driver’s car and began accusing him of driving too fast.

“He crossed in front of my car, and he was swearing and abusing me. I pulled the window down on the passenger side (and asked) ‘what happened?’,” the driver told news.com.au

“He said ‘you’re going too fast’,” he said, adding the man was five metres from his car.

The driver, who claims he was travelling under 10km per hour, said he swore back at the man before he started driving off.

That’s when he saw the man running towards him in his side view mirror.

“He got through the passenger window and he started hitting me with the hammer,” the driver said.

“I was totally unprepared for this. My reaction was, I’m stuck in the seat belt.

“At one point, he opened the door handle from the inside (and he is) talking to me with his head in the car and he’s hurling racist abuse at me.”

The driver said he was incredibly “lucky” he was wearing his favourite watch, which absorbed the blows and was completely destroyed in the attack.

“I didn’t wear a watch for 10 days then I decided to wear a watch and it just saved my wrist,” he said.

“I was just completely lucky … my wrist would have broken.”

After being struck at least three times, the driver managed to get out of his car and call the police.

Video footage obtained by news.com.au shows the man walking up to the driver before realising he was phoning triple-0 and fleeing the scene.

The driver said he’s worried the alleged attacker will return and constantly looks over his shoulder when he’s in the carpark.

“I couldn’t go to sleep for the last four days. I kept thinking he was so close, how did I miss him?”

The driver has urged the man to turn himself in “before he hurts somebody else”.

“I don’t think he’s mentally all there. You don’t see people walking with a hammer in a business office area at 9.30 in the morning attacking people for an argument like this.”

A NSW Police spokesperson said officers attached to the Hills Police command were called to the carpark shortly before 10am following reports of an assault.

“Police were told a man approached a driver and spoke to him about his manner of driving before the men had a heated verbal exchange,” the spokesperson said in a statement to news.com.au.

“The man then reached into the driver’s car before taking a hammer and assaulting the driver on his wrist. The man left the scene on foot.”

“Officers arrived a short time later and despite an extensive search of the area, the man could not be located.”

No arrests have been made.

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