A disqualified driver who sped up and crashed shortly after an ambulance activated its flashing lights appears to have mistaken the emergency vehicle for a police car.
Two men, including the 21-year-old driver, were seriously injured in the crash on State Highway 1, about 1km away from the turn-off to SH29 to Tauranga, about 10.15pm yesterday.
Police believe the driver accelerated away from the ambulance because he was trying to flee what he thought was a police car. The man was disqualified from driving and the Holden Commodore he was in did not have a current warrant of fitness or registration.
Waikato road policing manager Inspector Marcus Lynam said the ambulance had been on its way to a high-priority job in Matamata when it activated its emergency lights behind the car.
He said the car's driver appeared to have mistaken the ambulance's red flashing lights for the blue and red flashing lights of a police car.