Police acted appropriately during a pursuit in Ōtaki, where two people died in a crash after the pursuit was abandoned, was the finding of the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report.
On 26 April last year, police briefly pursued a stolen Ford Courier ute travelling south from Levin on State Highway 1 that had been involved in an aggravated robbery in Ōtaki. The pursuit was abandoned due to excessive speed.
The ute eventually crashed head on into another vehicle after driving north in the southbound lane of the expressway north of Ōtaki.
The driver of the ute, 16-year-old Reihana Hawea, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Another passenger, Tama Whakarau, later succumbed to his injuries in hospital, while a third passenger sustained serious injuries but survived the crash.
The four occupants of the other car, a Toyota Fortuner, sustained injuries ranging from serious to moderate, but all survived.
Following an investigation, the IPCA concluded that, overall, police managed the fleeing driver incident appropriately. It noted police had considered closing the road to minimise risks to other road users, but the option was deemed unfeasible in the circumstances involved.
The authority did identify some minor breaches of the fleeing driver policy, and recommended police amend the policy to specify that when a police vehicle was carrying crew members, those crew members were responsible for managing police communications during pursuits.
Police accept the findings of the Authority.
Relieving Central District Commander Inspector Ross Grantham says “first and foremost, our thoughts and sympathies are with the people and families impacted by this crash.”
On 26 April 2024, police briefly pursued a stolen vehicle on State Highway 1, south of Levin, after it was involved in an aggravated robbery in Ōtaki.
Police abandoned the pursuit due to high speeds of the driver.
They later found the vehicle driving north in the southbound lane of the expressway and it eventually crashed head on into another vehicle.
Tragically, the driver and one passenger of the stolen vehicle died, and another passenger suffered serious injuries.
The four people in the other vehicle suffered serious to moderate injuries.
Inspector Grantham says the IPCA found that overall Police managed this complex and dangerous fleeing driver incident appropriately in the circumstances:
“The outcome of this incident, which was the death of two young people and serious injuries to five members of the public is a tragedy and was completely avoidable.
“Police use every serious incident as an opportunity to learn and we note the minor breaches of our police policy raised by the IPCA and have taken these onboard,” says Inspector Grantham.
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