Youth Driving Behviour in Tauranga

Tauranga Police are horrified at the actions of 2 groups of youths in separate incidents overnight.

Just after midnight on Sunday 10 March at Te Puke Police attempted to stop a vehicle containing three occupants. The driver failed to stop and fled from Police driving to Mount Maunganui where road spikes were deployed.  Initially this failed and the car continued, leading Police around several streets for about 10 minutes before coming to stop in a dead end street.

On the open road the car reached speeds of 130kph, in the urban areas the speeds reached up to 60kph.

Enquiries established the vehicle had recently been stolen from Te Puke address by the driver, a 15 year old boy, He had two 14 year old girls in the car with him.  The driver and one of the girls have been referred to Youth Aid.

Later the same day at about 0330am Police attended a single vehicle crash on rural Borrell Road, Te Puna near Tauranga.   A Honda Accord failed to take a gentle right hand bend, left the road and came to rest on its roof in a ditch.

Three sixteen year olds were in the car, one of whom was taken to hospital with minor injuries.  The other two were not injured.  Police enquiries are continuing to determine who was driving the car at the time, all three were under the influence of alcohol.

"Young teenagers joy riding in cars, failing to stop for Police, and in the second incident adding booze into the equation are all the ingredients for disaster," said Senior Sergeant Glenn Saunders of Tauranga Police.

"Staff who attended the crash on Borrell Road were amazed none of the occupants were seriously injured or killed judging by the damage to the car.  They are three lucky boys," Senior Sergeant Saunders said.

ENDS

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