Driverless car smashes into MP’s office

National MP Michael Woodhouse’s Princes St office is undergoing repairs after a driverless car rolled down Stafford St early this morning. Photo / ODT

Dunedin police are concerned at the reckless behaviour of a thief who broke into a car in Stafford St and released the handbrake, sending it hurtling down the hill into National MP Michael Woodhouse’s office.

Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond said a red Honda Domani was parked in Stafford St when someone broke into it and rummaged through the contents.

About 2.40am today, they took the hand brake off and the vehicle has rolled backwards and across the Princes St intersection into the office building on the other side of the road.

“The car has been towed for fingerprinting, and businesses in the area are being contacted for their CCTV footage as well as intersection footage.”

He said it was not believed to be the work of youths.

“It’s probably opportunistic. They’ve taken the opportunity to go in and see what they can find.”

It is the second time in three months a driverless vehicle has rolled down a street through an intersection in the area.

A pedestrian was killed in March this year, when a driverless truck rolled down Carroll St, across Princes St into Police St, and went through Bond St and State Highway 1 (Crawford St) before stopping in lower Police St.

The truck struck and killed a 19-year-old pedestrian before hitting several parked cars.

“Any unattended vehicle travelling across an intersection poses a risk to the public, particularly when that intersection has five roads and is a regular thoroughfare at that time of the morning,” Bond said.