Driver throws hammer at car in violent Glen Waverley road rage attack
A driver is on the run after he allegedly threw a hammer across four lanes during a terrifying road rage attack in Melbourne’s south-east.
A man in his early 60s told police he was stopped at a red light on High Street Road in Glen Waverley when a man threw a hammer at his blue Mazda about 5.30am on Wednesday.
The force of the hammer shattered the rear passenger's side window and it is understood the victim of the attack initially thought his car had been car shot at.
The victim drove to a nearby shopping centre and called police.
Detectives later found a hammer in the rear seat of the car.
A dark coloured Mazda was seen turning right into Springvale Road at the time of the attack and police want to speak to the driver of that vehicle.
Investigators are also urging anyone who witnessed the attack to contact police.
The incident is the latest in a string of violent road rage attacks on Melbourne's roads.
In another incident last Sunday, a man was hospitalised after he was allegedly bashed by another crazed driver following a crash in Gladstone Park.
Earlier this month, up to six men allegedly attacked a truck driver, smashing his windows with a metal pole and pulling him from his vehicle, in a road rage incident that started on the Bolte Bridge and ended in Port Melbourne.
Disturbing footage also emerged of another violent brawl in the middle of a busy Melbourne street, where two men and a woman were seen fighting.
The YouTube video shows two cars stopped in the middle of Dynon Road in Melbourne’s inner west.
Three people are seen arguing when one man pulls out a long, narrow black object, possibly an umbrella, and starts bashing the other man.
A fourth person emerges and eventually breaks up the melee.
Late last month, a truck driver who allegedly used a hammer to terrorise two school teachers in a vicious road rage attack was charged.
A Craigieburn man was charged with multiple offences including conduct endangering life and assault with a weapon following the alleged rampage.
The 27-year-old allegedly tailgated schoolteachers Leigh Mahady, 62, and Julie Dougherty, 60, as they drove along the Tullamarine Freeway to Melbourne Airport on May 27.
He then allegedly pulled up next to the women, side swiping them before pushing the car towards the concrete road barrier and damaging doors, a side mirror and tyres, police said.
The women later said they believed they were "going to die" during the attack.
Road rage assaults have jumped by 60 per cent across Victoria in the past four years, growing from 210 to 380 reported cases, according to Crime Statistics Agency data.