Killed driver a 'friend and gentleman'

The scene of the crash. Photo / Sarah Ivey

The great-grandfather who was instantly killed when a man allegedly rammed a police car, rolled his Jeep, and landed on top of another car, has been described as a gentleman.

Michael Plimmer, 71, who went by his middle name Roden, died in the six-car pile-up about 2km away from his house on Tuesday on Rosedale Rd, in Albany on the North Shore.

Police allege Dutch-born Cornelius Klein, 50, caused the crash after becoming suicidal and "shouting and screaming".

Mourners paid their respects to Mr Plimmer's wife, Patricia, and family at their home yesterday.

Mr Plimmer's son-in-law, Scott Graham, spoke of his family's grief.

"He was greatly loved and he will be sorely missed. He was tragically taken too soon."

The family had received a lot of media interest about the crash but they were "focusing on being together and not aiming for Roden to be the centre of attention", Mr Graham said.

Mr Plimmer, originally from the Opunake area, was a keen bowler and would travel to Taranaki to play in tournaments each year, representing the Browns Bay Bowls Club.

Last year he beat his 67-year-old brother Neville's West End side during the Open Four's tournament.

Despite playing bowls for most of their lives, it was the first time the brothers had met on the greens.

Browns Bay club captain Kevin Smith paid his respects to a "good friend" yesterday.

"Roden was a dearly loved member of our club, he was a gentleman, he will be sorely missed here."

Mr Plimmer had four children, 12 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Klein made a brief appearance at the North Shore District Court yesterday and has been remanded in custody to undergo psychiatric assessment.

He is alleged to have been driving a Jeep Cherokee along the Albany Expressway with his ex-partner's 18-year-old daughter in the passenger seat when he began talking about taking his own life.

A police summary of facts said the woman pleaded for Klein to pull over but he didn't do so until she threatened to call police.

The woman called police on her cellphone from the side of the road.

"The defendant started to walk after the passenger, following her for about 100 metres, before he returned to his vehicle."

A patrol car on the nearby East Coast Rd was first to reach Klein, arriving with lights and sirens going.

The police car overtook Klein on his left-hand side after which he "made a one-finger gesture" at them.

Klein then chased police at speeds of up to 90km/h.

After about 2km the police car came to a red light where Klein deliberately rammed it from behind. The patrol car was pushed into the path of oncoming traffic.

Klein's Jeep rolled on to its side, before coming to a stop on top of Mr Plimmer's car and crushing its roof.

Klein managed to crawl from his car and was taken to hospital before being discharged into police custody yesterday.

He is alleged to have told police he had rammed the police car on purpose because he thought they were going too fast when they passed him and wanted to "punish them".