Car crashes through front doors of Nelson’s ANZ Bank

 The occupants of a vehicle and pedestrians in the area at the time were lucky to escape injury when a Toyota car which had fled from Police veered across the footpath and crashed through the main doors of the ANZ Bank in Nelson just before 9pm yesterday.

Minutes earlier Police had attempted to stop the car in St Vincent Street, Nelson, seeing it turn to avoid a compulsory checkpoint.

The vehicle initially pulled into the kerb, but as the Police Officer approached it the driver accelerated away.

The vehicle turned into the car park in front of The Warehouse and was pursued by Police through this car park area coming out on to Hardy Street.

Due to the speed of the offending vehicle, Police abandoned the pursuit after less than a minute.

The fleeing vehicle continued up Hardy Street into the central city at high speed, colliding with a taxi at the intersection with Trafalgar Street. The driver then lost control, narrowly avoiding a number of pedestrians in the area before crashing through the main doors of the ANZ Bank.

The four occupants of the vehicle were un-injured as was the driver of the taxi.

The 31 year old driver was apprehended by Police. He is a disqualified driver and tested positive for alcohol. He will appear in the Nelson District Court on Monday.

His vehicle was extensively damaged as was the entrance to the ANZ Bank.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>