KEY POINTS:
An Auckland man, who drove for 8km without any brakes while allegedly being chased by his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend, is lucky to be alive after he crashed into a police station.
The 35-year-old managed to negotiate his way down steep winding roads, through a major intersection and along the Northern Motorway before finding safety at the entrance of the North Shore Policing centre yesterday morning.
Officers heard the car screeching along the road moments before impact.
Police believe the brake cables on the man's stationwagon were cut some time during Sunday night while it was parked outside his girlfriend's home in Paremoremo.
Detective Constable James Bolton said the man left his girlfriend's place yesterday morning and had only got about 2km along Paremoremo Rd when he noticed his brakes were failing. He pulled over and was trying to inspect his car when his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend turned up waving a screwdriver.
Mr Bolton said the man jumped back into his car and locked the doors but the ex-boyfriend allegedly smashed the window with the screwdriver.
Fearing for his life the man took off, using the handbrake where possible to try and control his speed, while being followed closely by the ex-boyfriend who was allegedly trying to ram him.
"He's taken off down an 8km drive from Paremoremo to the police station. This guy has followed him in his car, trying to ram him off the road."
Mr Bolton said the man somehow managed to get through a dangerous and busy intersection at the bottom of The Avenue and State Highway 17.
"He's lucky he hasn't gone straight into the old Albany pub (at the intersection). He's managed, God know's how, to go around that.
"Fearing for his life, he has then driven straight to the police station with no brakes and crashed straight into the front of the police station."
The car hit a concrete pillar, causing structural damage to the station. His car was so badly damaged it will probably be written off.
Mr Bolton said the impact was so loud police throughout the building heard it coming. The man received cuts to his face but managed to flee the smashed car and run into the station. The ex-boyfriend - who wanted to tell police his side of the story - was just moments behind.
* A 29-year-old sickness beneficiary is due to appear in the North Shore District Court today charged with assault with a weapon and reckless driving. Further charges are expected to be laid in relation to the cut brake lines.
