Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

I panicked, claims speeding teenager

By Melissa Nightingale
Whanganui Chronicle·
27 Jan, 2016 08:24 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A teenager who led police on a car chase "panicked", a court has heard.

Matthew Alexander Reid Smith was driving in breach of his restricted licence in the early hours of December 27 when police tried to pull him over.

He was driving in a 50km/h section of urban road, but was speeding when police tried to catch up with him, police prosecutor Sergeant David Grey said.

Smith initially slowed when police activated the patrol car's lights, but then accelerated away. He then took police on a chase, at one point reaching speeds of 105km/h.

During the chase, Smith had to brake hard, causing his wheels to lock and his car to skid across the opposite lane and on to a grass verge, Mr Grey said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

When he eventually stopped, a breath test showed him to have 392mcg of alcohol in his system. Under-20 year olds are not allowed to drive after drinking any alcohol.

Smith told police: "I panicked. I accelerated when I should have braked."

He pleaded guilty in the Whanganui District Court on Tuesday to dangerous driving, failing to stop for red and blue flashing lights, and having alcohol in his system while being a person aged under 20.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Smith had no criminal history.

Defence lawyer Harete Hipango said Smith told her he did not realise it was a police car behind and thought he was being tailgated, and panicked.

"He stands in the dock with his head bowed, sir. He's aware that he has done wrong," she said.

Ms Hipango said Smith not only had to face the "wrath of the court", but also that of his family.

Judge David Cameron said he was not sure about "this business of not knowing who it was".

"He slowed down, for goodness' sake, and only accelerated when the police lights came on."

He described the offending as "all in all, disgraceful behaviour".

Judge Cameron fined Smith $950, $130 court costs, and disqualified him from driving for nine months.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

Search for missing man continues after car pulled from river

10 Jul 11:09 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

Community group seeks to manage historic reserve

10 Jul 06:00 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

Chaos as Ruapehu council rejects officials' advice on water

10 Jul 03:15 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Search for missing man continues after car pulled from river

Search for missing man continues after car pulled from river

10 Jul 11:09 PM

Kahukura Gill was not inside the car, which was found in the Whanganui River on July 2.

Community group seeks to manage historic reserve

Community group seeks to manage historic reserve

10 Jul 06:00 PM
Chaos as Ruapehu council rejects officials' advice on water

Chaos as Ruapehu council rejects officials' advice on water

10 Jul 03:15 AM
Strong winds bring weather warning and watches

Strong winds bring weather warning and watches

10 Jul 03:00 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP