KEY POINTS:
A 24-year-old student who was the victim of a hit-and-run during a police chase in Auckland yesterday should have been on his way back home to Korea today.
Instead, the young man's parents are deciding whether to come to New Zealand, uncertain whether their son will survive his
injuries.
An Auckland District Health Board spokeswoman said the man was in a critical but stable condition this morning.
She said the man was still in intensive care.
Police are continuing their hunt for the driver of the stolen car that hit him.
The victim was named by Korean Consul Key Sun Shin only as Mr Choi and was last night in an induced coma after undergoing surgery yesterday at Auckland City Hospital.
Mr Shin said Mr Choi had been doing a six-week English language course at Otago University.
He said Mr Choi was a very bright student who was studying information and communication technology at one of Korea's top universities.
He would not name the university.
Mr Choi was to spend just two days in Auckland before a flight scheduled to leave for Korea last night, Mr Shin said.
The Korean Embassy informed Mr Choi's family of the accident yesterday.
"His family is all in shock," Mr Shin said.
"They would like to come to New Zealand but detailed information has not been confirmed yet."
Auckland City police crime services manager Detective Inspector Bruce Shadbolt said three police cars had been pursuing the stolen vehicle in a chase which began at the intersection of Mayoral Drive and Wellesley and Albert Sts - just one block from Auckland Central Police Station - at 12.28pm.
The pursuit lasted less than 30 seconds - and ended less than 200m from where it began - when the tall European driver with a shaved head drove through red lights and ploughed into Mr Choi as he walked with three friends over the Queen St-Mayoral Drive intersection.
Mr Shadbolt said police were working through CCTV film to track the offender, who drove off down Kitchener St and Bowen Ave before driving the wrong way down Emily Place, where he abandoned the car and ran off towards Britomart Place.
Mr Shadbolt said the chase ended as soon as officers saw Mr Choi had been hit.
"As far as we're aware no one followed him [the offender] because the police staff stopped to render assistance," Mr Shadbolt said.
"They did what probably most human people would do, is stop and render assistance to someone who needed it."
Police have been criticised after other chases that have ended in serious injury or death but Mr Shadbolt deflected any criticism towards the hit-and-run driver.
"Incidents like this would not occur if people stopped when requested to by police - that's the simple answer."
PURSUITS TRAGEDIES
January 23, 2009: Halatau Naitoko, 17, is shot dead after an hour-long police chase that ended on the Northwestern Motorway. The gunman, Stephen McDonald, 50, is arrested at the scene.
July 11, 2008: Porirua police Sergeant Derek Wootton is struck and killed by a man driving a stolen car as he laid road spikes during a pursuit. Andrew Popo, 32, is charged with dangerous driving causing death and other offences.
August 3, 2007: Farhat Buksh, 13, suffers head injuries when he is hit by a falling lamp-post knocked over by a police car during a pursuit on Richardson Rd, Mt Albert. Constable Aaron Holmes, 29, was ordered to pay $3000 to Farhat and was disqualified from driving for one year and one day.
