Attempted carjacking victim hits out at police

The wife of a man who filmed an attempted carjacking on a deserted road in northern NSW said the incident terrified her family and police have been unhelpful.

The motorist, who gave only his name as Peter, was driving along Lake Road near Cessnock in the early hours of Sunday morning when he came upon a hooded man standing near a stationary ute blocking an intersection.

As the driver slows to see if the man needs help, the hooded man bizarrely stands still for a few seconds staring at the ground, before suddenly making for the driver's car door.

The driver screams as he screeches his tires and floors his car, managing to escape before the man can force himself in.

The man's wife and daughter were reportedly following him in another car and had the same encounter.

The woman, who spoke to The Sydney Morning Herald anonymously, said the incident had "really shaken them up".

"I almost stopped before I could go around this guy, and as we went past he just lunged at our door," the woman said.

"We still don't know what he was trying to do, whether he was trying to rob us, was he trying to take our car or was he trying to hurt us.

Central Hunter duty officer Inspector Greg Lindsell said a man living in bushland near where the incident happened had been arrested on drugs charges but no arrests have been made in relation to the carjacking.

The woman said she was disappointed by NSW Police's response when she reported the encounter.

"For starters, we need to find out what the bloke's intentions were, whether he might even have mental health issues," the woman said.

"The bottom line is we need to know what was going on."