A string of at least five vehicle crashes before midday - including a car colliding with a portable loo - has kept Northland police busy today.
The first crash happened when a fleeing vehicle with five teenagers crashed into a roadside barrier at the intersection of SH1 and Portland Rd about 5.45am.
The vehicle, believed to be stolen from Hawke's Bay, was first spotted on Western Hills Dr and a police pursuit began. A spokesman said police stopped the pursuit before the vehicle was found crashed south of the city.
Within five minutes of police arriving, two females aged 15 and 16 and three males aged 14, 15 and 17 had been arrested. All were from Auckland.
A 17-year-old was to appear in Whangarei District Court today on charges of failing to stop, dangerous driving, unlawfully getting into a motor vehicle and breach of bail.
Just under four hours later and only 500m north of the Portland Rd crash, police were called when an empty portable toilet fell off a trailer and was struck by an oncoming car.
The loo was one of 10 being transported to Waipu by Cowley's Hire Centre when it came free from the lashings.
A woman and her elderly mother were uninjured but shaken by the crash. It was likely the driver of the truck would be issued with a ticket for an insecure load.
One person was taken to Whangarei Hospital as a precaution after a collision on Whangarei Heads Rd shortly after 11am.
And just as officers had cleared that crash, they were called to another one on SH1 near the intersection with Vinegar Hill Rd. Traffic started to back up but officers quickly cleared the road and got traffic flowing again.
Police in the Bay of Islands were also called to a single-vehicle crash near Old Russell Rd about 10.30am.