REON SUDDABY
Police are refusing to speculate on the cause of a high-speed car chase which ended in tragedy this morning when a man was killed when his vehicle slammed into the front of the Hawke's Bay Exhibition Centre.
John James Whiunui, 23, from Hastings, died at the scene.
The drama began about 3.40am when police received a phone call from an attendant at Hastings' Caltex Karamu Road service station about a domestic incident involving two people on the premises.
A police car carrying two officers went to the service station, but the officers were unable to talk to either the man or the woman involved, before the man drove off.
Hastings Police area commander Inspector Dean Clifford said the man travelled at speeds "well over 50km/h" south on Karamu Road, going through at least one red light. Police turned on their lights and siren and chased the vehicle but the driver failed to stop.
At the intersection of Karamu Road and Eastbourne Street the vehicle left the road and travelled about 100 metres before crashing into the concrete building.
Blood samples had been taken from the dead man, and would be tested for alcohol and drugs.
The pursuit lasted about a minute and covered a kilometre. Police had not yet determined what speeds the chase reached. Mr Clifford said there was no indication the man tried to slow down before crashing into the side of the concrete building.
The possibility of the accident being a suicide would be looked into as part of the police investigations.
"We will be talking with the partner, who was left behind at the petrol station, but we're just giving her some time," Mr Clifford said.
Two investigations have been launched following the crash. One, on behalf of the coroner, will involve a crash investigation, which will look at the details of the crash and the speeds involved, as well as the demeanour of the man before the accident.
The second is a police internal investigation, looking into police procedure during the pursuit. It will be run by Detective Inspector Godfrey Watson.
The Police Complaints Authority had also been notified of the crash.
Mr Clifford said early indications suggested police pursuit policy and procedures had been followed during the chase. "At this stage it looks like they did everything by the book, but they were powerless to stop the crash."
Mr Clifford said while police felt sympathy for the family of the deceased and the police staff involved, it was fortunate no innocent people had been hurt during the chase.
Any witnesses to the pursuit and crash are asked to contact the Hastings Police. This morning's crash continues the recent horror run on Hawke's Bay roads.
The Bay's death toll since January now stands at 33, one more than the total for 2003, itself the highest figure since 1998.
Pursuit ends in death
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