The car being taken away from the police station doors. Photo / Stephanie Fawcett
A man crashed a car into a police station yesterday, narrowly missing staff at its front counter and people waiting inside the foyer, then tried to fight off staff who were trying to get him out of the vehicle.
The Hamilton City Area Commander, Inspector Rob Lindsay, said the incident
at Hamilton Central Police station came without warning shortly before 1pm.
He said the crash was "inches away" from being a tragedy.
The man driving the older-model Holden Commodore sedan crashed through two sets of glass doors.
The vehicle stopped about a metre from the front service counter - just missing several people who were seated in the foyer.
One woman, who asked not to be named, said she thought something was "not quite right" when watching from a nearby supermarket carpark she saw the car suddenly veer off Bridge St and head towards the station.
At first, she thought the driver was possibly having a heart attack.
"It was ... like slow-motion, I thought 'he's going to stop' but the car just kept going and then smashed through the doors."
Police could not comment on initial indications that showed the driver suffered from mental health issues. But Mr Lindsay said he was "extremely uncooperative and aggressive" towards staff who tried to remove him from the car.
One police officer cut her hand and needed stitches while her colleague injured his eye.
The driver suffered several cuts and was yesterday being treated at Waikato Hospital. His passenger was unhurt.
