A domestic dispute in Pakipaki spiralled into a police pursuit yesterday, ending with the driver being Tasered and a three-car collision.
Police were called to a house in Anderson Rd in Pakipaki at about noon after a report that a man had assaulted his partner.
Hastings senior sergeant Ross Smith said the man "took off" from the property in a Nissan van.
He was believed to have left the property with a passenger, but when a police patrol later came across his green van he was the sole occupant.
Police pursued the van for about 6km along Mangaroa Rd where they said he was not travelling at "overly-excessive speeds" but ignored police requests to stop.
The damaged car in Paki Paki Road.
The 36-year-old man's driving deteriorated at the corner of Mangaroa Rd and SH50A (Paki Paki Rd).
Mr Smith said the man ignored oncoming traffic and turned right on to the highway, south towards Pakipaki.
Three cars travelling in the opposite direction towards Hastings were forced to brake suddenly to avoid colliding with the van, resulting in a three-vehicle nose-to-tail collision. One car ended up in a ditch.
The green Nissan van avoided the oncoming cars, but skid marks traced the path to its resting place - on its side straddling a ditch and a fence.
Mr Smith said the driver was uninjured and did not attempt to flee the scene but resisted arrest, necessitating the use of a Taser to apprehend him.
"He is facing a variety of charges relating to the domestic incident, a variety of charges relating to the driving incident and a variety of charges relating to his arrest," he said.
St John district operations manager Stephen Smith said an ambulance was sent to the accident scene and the scene of the alleged assault, but nobody was taken to hospital.