Passenger falls out of car packed with 10 people

File photo / NZ Herald

A 17-year-old is facing multiple charges after she kept driving after a passenger fell out the door of a moving car packed with 10 people, including two in the boot.

The young man who tumbled from the overloaded car was unharmed, but the incident in Hamilton yesterday has prompted police to renew their warnings about the dangers of breaching restricted licence conditions.

Waikato police spokesman Andrew McAlley said officers started following the car after it was seen acting suspiciously in a Pak'nSave car park early yesterday morning.

They continued to trail the car as it turned west from Anglesea St on to Mill St, where "a young man was ejected from the car".

"They [police] stopped to check he was alright and then continued to follow it."

Mr McAlley said the officers pulled the car over on Boundary Rd about 1.20am.

"It took quite a while to get everybody untangled out of the car, and that's when they noticed the rear of the car was still weighted down, and they found the two persons in the boot."

Mr McAlley said the 17-year-old female behind the wheel has been charged with breaching restricted licence conditions, carrying unauthorised passengers and carrying passengers in a dangerous position.

He said last year, there were seven people killed in five fatal crashes involving drivers breaching licence conditions.

Mr McAlley reiterated Waikato road policing manager Inspector Leo Tooman's warning that young drivers did not have the inherent skills when they first started out, which was why the graduated licence system was in place.

"The licences are there for a reason ... so we ask people to stick to it."