Alleged carjacker back in court

A man accused of carjacking a woman and her baby during a 24km police chase has been back in court today. File photo / NZ Herald

A psychological report will be prepared for a man accused of carjacking a woman and her baby during a 24km police chase, before he decides whether to plead to the charges.

Tony Temoananui is alleged to have driven the wrong way up the motorway before ploughing into a ute in west Auckland last month.

The 19-year-old made a brief appearance in Auckland District Court via video link from Mt Eden Prison this morning.

He is facing six charges including robbery, reckless driving causing injury and other driving charges.

His lawyer, Vicki Pomeroy, has requested a forensic report on her client's state-of-mind at the time of the alleged offending before he next appears in court on November 9.

He will then either have a sentence indication hearing - when a judge describes the type, and sometimes length, of sentence an accused person will get should they plead guilty - or be committed to trial.

Charges were laid after a stolen Honda Prelude smashed through a fence in Clendon, south Auckalnd early on September 15.

Police pursued it briefly but abandoned the chase after it turned on to busy Roscommon Rd.

The Eagle helicopter tracked the car as it entered the Southwestern Motorway, drove "erratically" around Mangere Bridge, returned to the motorway and exited on Hillsborough Rd.

The vehicle continued to Kinross Rd in Hillsborough and collided with a white Toyota Corolla, forcing it to stop.

Temoananui is alleged to have pulled the female driver from her car. She managed to get her 2-year-old daughter out before her car was driven away. Moments later it smashed into a ute in Blockhouse Bay.