A wild brawl has unfolded on a busy Newcastle road, after the occupants of two cars attacked each other in an apparent road rage incident.
The cars - a Mitsubishi hatchback and a Honda SUV - were driving northbound on Maitland Road in Sandgate about 4pm on Monday.
More NSW News Videos
Highway brawl in Newcastle
Footage has emerged of a wild brawl between four people at a set of traffic lights in Newcastle. Vision courtesy NEW FM and CJ Van Rensburg.
When they stopped at a red light, three men and a woman jumped out to confront one another and almost immediately began kicking and punching.
CJ Van Rensburg told Fairfax Media he was driving home from work when the violence began. It was captured on his dashboard camera.
![A man is picked up and slammed on the ground during the roadside brawl.](/web/20170125082144im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/x/a/x/7/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtxa76.png/1485234416665.jpg)
He said the Mitsubishi, at the rear, was "driving very erratically" for several minutes, with the driver and passenger leaning out the windows and shouting.
When they got to the intersection of the Newcastle Inner City Bypass, tensions boiled over.
"They started brawling on the sidewalk," Mr Van Rensburg said. "Why that is, I don't know, but certainly the car that is closest to my vehicle, they seemed to be the agitators."
Mr Van Rensburg said he initially couldn't explain the drivers' behaviour.
![A shirtless man kicks at two brawlers who are grappling on the ground.](/web/20170125082144im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/x/a/x/8/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtxa76.png/1485234416665.jpg)
"Just the way they acted in the cars was ludicrous," he said. "Once they stopped and got out of the cars and started brawling, I thought yeah, it's some road rage thing going on."
Video shows the passenger in the Mitsubishi opening his door before the car stops. He jumps out and walks to the drivers' door of the Honda, where the driver has also jumped out, leaving his door ajar. The pair front up for several seconds, then start throwing flailing punches.
![A discarded shirt remains on the road as traffic begins to drive away.](/web/20170125082144im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/x/a/x/4/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtxa76.png/1485234416665.jpg)
As fists fly, the female driver of the Mitsubishi walks to the passenger side of the Honda, where a shirtless man emerges. She attempts to get in his way, before he runs around her and joins the fray.
The shirtless man appears to shove the fighting pair. As they fall to the ground, he repeatedly kicks and punches the passenger from the Mitsubishi.
![The group brawls as a car door remains ajar behind them.](/web/20170125082144im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/x/a/y/d/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtxa76.png/1485234416665.jpg)
The woman manages to pull the Honda's driver from the throng and convinces him to stand to the side. Her passenger stands up, grabbing the shirtless man by the legs, and slams him to the ground.
Several more wild kicks and punches are thrown as the pair briefly wrestle on the ground, before they stand up.
The Honda's passenger walks back towards the car, as the Mitsubishi passenger begins to take his shirt off then reconsiders.
As the light turns green and other cars drive away, the brawlers begin to get back in their cars. The Honda passenger closes his door, leaving his discarded shirt on the road.
The entire altercation lasted for less than a minute.
Thirteen seconds of the fight was captured from a different angle - by a journalist standing across the road, outside radio station NewFM.
That footage was posted on Twitter shortly after the incident on Monday. It was widely shared, viewed hundreds of thousands of times on social media.
ROAD RAGE: 3 men and a women start a fight at a set of lights in Sandgate. @1053NEWFM @nbnnews @2HDBreakfast pic.twitter.com/XatofYctru
— Alexander Heinke (@AlHeinks) January 23, 2017
Another witness said they called police, but by the time officers arrived at the intersection the parties involved in the brawl were gone.
Mr Van Rensburg said he had footage of the cars' number plates and would give a copy of his video to anyone who needed it.
Police said anyone with information on the incident should phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.