By Brendan Rees
Alarming footage has emerged on social media of the moment a shirtless man throws punches at a passenger at a busy intersection in Cranbourne on Thursday 6 February.
The wild incident unfolded at the intersection of the South Gippsland Highway and Thompsons Road just before 2pm.
Video shows a white sedan stopped on an angle in the middle of the road with smoke coming out of the bonnet while a man on foot appears to unleash several punches through the front passenger window.
Police say they arrested a man in a stolen vehicle after he was detained by a member of the public who recognised the car and a scuffle took place at the intersection.
A 21-year-old Cranbourne man was arrested by police at the scene.
He was taken to The Alfred hospital in a stable condition with upper body injuries – where he also remained under police guard.
The other man was unharmed and police have launched an investigation.
“It’s believed two other men were in the stolen car at the time and fled the scene,” a Victoria Police spokesperson said.
Witnesses took to Facebook, with one saying four cars were involved – which was caused by a motorist “driving like an absolute maniac” on South Gippsland Highway.
The witness said a fight broke out “between the driver of the main car and a couple of others trying to detain him” before police arrived.
Another posted: “I saw him being put into the police car and figured he was the problem”.
“Everyone was stopped; we weren’t driving as traffic was being redirected,” another post said.
While another said: “The guy was in a stolen car and the other people seen their car so they bashed him and got their car back”.
Police urge anyone who witnessed the incident or who may have dash cam footage of the men fleeing is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
