KEY POINTS:
A man is lucky to be alive after climbing over a barrier and falling 10m to the Southern Motorway while fleeing from police in central Auckland.
Police officers broke up a fight between two men on Karangahape Rd about 10.30pm on Friday, and one of the men ran down Galatos St and into the carpark of the Galatos Lodge.
Duty manager Tash De Goldi was alerted and went out to the carpark to investigate.
She said she saw several police cars and a young man in the carpark who said "Hi sis," before running behind the building.
A police officer tried to catch him but the man climbed over the barrier, trying to lower himself on to bolts on the wall which drops down to the motorway.
The man, believed to be in his 20s and known to the police, was hanging from the wall when a police helicopter arrived. Officers tried to direct colleagues to assist the man, but he fell to the motorway before they could help.
A police patrol and a passing doctor driving by helped the injured man before he was taken to hospital.
He suffered severe leg and chest injuries and is now in a stable condition.
It was not clear last night whether he would face any charges.
