Cousins die in police pursuit crash

Two men involved in a fatal car crash following a police pursuit in the Tasman district near Murchison on Sunday were cousins, from Invercargill.

Police today named the dead man as Ricky Alan Forbes, 35.

He was a passenger in a Subaru Impreza WRX driven by Danny Ross Forbes, which smashed through a fence and into a tree while being pursued by police in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Sections of the car were found 30 metres apart after it slammed into a gum tree. The pursuit, which lasted about a minute, began after the car was seen doing burn-outs outside a hotel.

Ricky Forbes died at the scene while Danny Forbes was taken to Nelson Hospital, where he remains in a serious condition.

- NZPA