A stolen ute, which was fleeing from police, collided with a parked police patrol car south of Kerikeri this morning.
The 2004 Mazda Bounty ute was stolen from a burglary at Kerikeri yesterday. About 8.40am this morning a member of the public saw the ute near Kaikohe and called Police.
When Police located the car, the driver refused to stop and police then chased the vehicle along State Highway One. The ute was spiked near Puketona Junction, but the driver carried on and the vehicle continued along State Highway Ten.
It then collided with a bridge near the junction and hit a parked police patrol car, shunting the police car about seven metres down a bank. Both vehicles received extensive damage. The driver of the police car was not in the vehicle at the time, as he was in the process of setting up road spikes.
The driver of the stolen ute and his passenger received minor injuries. The two men, one aged 16 years and the other in his early 20s, were arrested and will be facing a number of driving charges.
Far North Area Commander Inspector Wendy Robilliard says police would like to thank the member of the public, who recognised the stolen car from a posting on the ‘Northland Grapevine – Info Sharing Group’ Facebook page and also the person who assisted the police in apprehending one of the offenders following the crash.
“The public are our ‘eyes’ and ‘ears’ and the member of the public who spotted the stolen car and the person who came to our aid at the scene helped us catch two offenders.”
For media inquiries contact Northland Police Communications Manager Sarah Kennett on 09 945 4650 or 021 192 1099