Man who stabbed motorcyclist in abdomen in Christchurch road rage clash avoids prison

Friday, 12 June 2026

A man who stabbed a motorcyclist in a road rage incident on one of Christchurch’s busiest roads has told a court there was “no excuse” for his actions.

Victim Mat Hayward, a father of two, was left with lifelong physical and mental consequences, his victim impact statement said.

Christchurch District Court Judge Quentin Hix said, at sentencing on Wednesday, it was “one of those really unfortunate cases” - at which point Paoroa Flowers, 30, interjected, saying “there’s no excuse for what I did”.

The judge said he got the impression Flowers was a good guy, and so was Hayward. “But [Hayward] ended up with a lot of consequences as a result of what I refer to as the old road rage.”

“We all get it. It’s just how you react.”

The attack happened about 4.40pm on March 6 last year, when Flowers got angry after believing Hayward cut him off in traffic on Brougham St.

The pair - unknown to each other - exchanged words at traffic lights before Flowers followed Hayward and threw an object at his helmet. Hayward then chased Flowers on his motorbike as he pulled into a bus stop on Opawa Rd. The two got out and, in the judge’s words, “squared up” to each other.

Punches were thrown. Hayward didn’t know Flowers had a knife until he was stabbed in the abdomen. He retreated to a nearby building and called for help.

Flowers fled, discarded the knife, abandoned his car at Bottle Lake Forest car park and called police to falsely report the vehicle stolen.

Hayward required emergency surgery. The knife had penetrated his stomach and intestine and nicked his pancreas. He spent several days in hospital recovering.

His partner Merehana Freeman told The Press last year the recovery had been excruciating. The pain was at its worst each time the drains inserted into his abdomen were changed. “He feels like it’s the stabbing all over again… The pain is the same,” she said.

The victim impact statement outlined lifelong physical and mental consequences for Hayward, with ongoing financial impacts that rippled through his family.

Hayward, the family’s main breadwinner, was unable to care for himself while Freeman looked after their two young children. “We are struggling,” she said at the time.

The court heard Flowers, who had his employer attend court in a show of support, had made significant efforts at rehabilitation and written a two-page letter to Hayward. He had also set aside $2000 for emotional harm reparation, that he promised to pay by 5pm the day of sentencing.

The court heard Flowers had experienced significant trauma and hardship in his early life that he worked through in counselling.

Defence lawyer Nicholas Rout described it as a spontaneous reaction to a perceived road rage incident that went badly wrong, noting Flowers had since distanced himself from negative influences and become a valued member of his whānau and community.

The original charge was reduced and Flowers pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon and making a false report to police.

The judge arrived at seven months’ home detention, with nine months probation. Flowers must serve his sentence at his North New Brighton address.