Please attribute to Senior Sergeant Peter Marriott, Counties Manukau District Shift Supervisor.

This morning at approximately 8am police attempted to stop a stolen vehicle that was acting suspiciously and believed it may have been linked to a series of burglaries overnight in the Counties Manukau area.

The vehicle failed to stop and fled from police. Police followed the vehicle, which contained five people for approximately ten minutes.

The offending vehicle collided with a stationary car that was waiting in heavy peak hour traffic at the intersection of Redoubt Road and Goodwood Drive, Manukau.

Thankfully no one was injured in the collision, however a 12-year-old occupant of the fleeing vehicle was taken to hospital in a critical condition which was not as a result of the crash. His condition has since been downgraded to serious.

As the patient is a youth there are significant privacy restrictions around any further information regarding his condition.

The ages of the occupants in the vehicle ranged from 12 to 17-years-old.

Fleeing driver events can be volatile, unpredictable, and high risk to everyone involved.

Drivers who choose not to pull over for Police when instructed put other members of the public at risk as well as themselves and our staff.

Police reiterate to anyone who is signalled to stop by police, that they should pull over and stop immediately - it is not worth putting anyone’s life at risk.

“We urge anyone who feels pressured to get into a vehicle that has the potential to end up in a fleeing vehicle incident – not to do it. Peer pressure is very real in these circumstances and for every car that has multiple occupants - there is only one driver. Everyone’s lives in that car are at the mercy of that driver. You or your friends could end up badly injured or even worse and a brave decision could end up saving lives and prevent devastating effects for your loved ones,” said Senior Sergeant Peter Marriott

“If you are concerned about friends or family who may be involved in unlawful activity, you should either talk to someone you can trust or contact Crimestoppers anonymously so we can help prevent these incidents from occurring.

It’s simply not worth it,” he said.

Police have charged a 16-year-old female with unlawfully takes a motor vehicle, aggravated fail to stop and reckless driving. Two 17-year-old females have been charged with unlawfully gets into a motor vehicle. And a 12-year-old male and 13-year-old female have been referred to youth aid.

Information can be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

ENDS

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