The 15-year-old killed after police pursuit, discharged himself from hospital nine days earlier.
Just hours before Morocco Tai was killed in a police chase while driving a stolen car in South Auckland yesterday, the 15-year-old was posting on Facebook asking who wanted to be picked up.
Morocco, or Rocco as he was called by friends and family, was the male driver of astolen car who died in a police pursuit in Otara in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Two female passengers, aged 16, were also hospitalised in a serious condition.
More revelations have emerged since the crash about Morocco, including:
• On social media, he offered friends rides in a car, and shared a photo of a table covered in large amounts of cigarettes and alcohol.
The hours before the fatal crash were detailed on the teenager's social media site, with Morocco first posting at 12.33am on Monday asking "Whats [sic] everyone upto" and declaring in his comments that he was "whip riding" and "banging in a whip". Whip is slang for car - derived from the whip used to control the horses on a stagecoach.
Morocco followed the post up six minutes later with another declaring "the violent offenders are out mf [sic]..".
Less than six hours later, Morocco would lose control of a stolen Honda Torneo as he was pursued by police, resulting in the fatal crash on Bairds Road just before 6am.
The incident would be labelled by police as "incredibly tragic for everyone that is involved".
A photo on his Facebook page shows him standing with a group of males by a table that is covered in large amounts of cigarettes and alcohol.
Police confirmed yesterday that he was a passenger in a stolen car which was travelling at speeds of up 120km/h in the wrong direction on Auckland's Southern Motorway on September 22.
He faced charges of aggravated robbery, endangering transport and aiding a driver in a dangerous manner, in relation to that incident.
Morocco Tai had shared this mage of cash and coins on social media.
A police source also told the Herald that at the time of his death Morocco was facing a raft of charges including unlawfully taking a vehicle, dangerous driving, failing to stop for police, aggravated robbery and unlawfully getting into a vehicle.
All charges were withdrawn on Monday, after his death.
When police were asked how the teenager came to be behind the wheel of a stolen car less than three weeks after this prior driving offence, Inspector Dave Simpson said: "Police did their job when we apprehended him. After that, it's not our issue."
A police spokeswoman said the aggravated robbery charge related to a robbery in Takanini where a woman had her car stolen, but the matter had been before the courts so police would not comment further on the charges.
Police confirmed that Morocco was hospitalised after the September 22 incident driving the wrong way up the motorway after he was bitten by a police dog.
A Counties Manukau District Health Board (CMDHB) spokeswoman confirmed Morocco discharged himself from hospital eight days later, on September 30.
Police would not comment on his discharge from hospital.
"We will not be commenting on anything to do with our investigation or operational matters," a police spokeswoman said.
Morocco's whereabouts between September 30 and the early hours of yesterday morning are unknown.
The fatal crash that took his life has been referred to the Independent Police Conduct Authority and police are also conducting their own investigation.
A CMDHB spokeswoman said the two 16-year-old girls injured in Monday's crash were now in a stable condition.
