Police pursuit fatal crash: Police arrest 17-year old driver

A 17-year-old driver involved in a fatal police pursuit in Christchurch this week has been charged with manslaughter and reckless driving causing injury.

He is due to appear in Christchurch Youth Court, police confirmed today.

Meanwhile a teen who survived the crash has posted a video from hospital claiming the car he was in was travelling at 140km/h and had run a red light.

The teen says in the video that the five teens in the vehicle are "lucky to be alive".

Kenneth McCaul, 64, was killed on Tuesday when the car he was in was T-boned by the teens' vehicle. The car had failed to stop for police and a four-minute pursuit began which included the vehicle running a red light, police have said.

McCaul was driving to work early to secure a car park and had planned to sleep in his car before starting his shift at Christchurch Hospital.

Five teenagers were in this vehicle, which was being pursued by police.

One of the passengers posted a video on social media from his hospital bed in the aftermath of the crash, saying another passengers from the crash is in a coma, Stuff reported.

"So lucky to be alive," he said in the video.

"Car crash ... we all nearly died."

The teen shows viewers his injuries, saying "this bad little scratch", and says the vehicle was "crushed as".

He also says the diver was speeding and ran a red light when their vehicle crashed into McCaul's car.

"Then we hit the side of it ... the guy in the other car died. It's rats....."

The teen driver had "all the pigs [police] outside his [hospital] room", the teenager says in the video, Stuff reported.

It is understood the four passengers all remain in Christchurch Hospital.

Canterbury metro area commander Superintendent Lane Todd said the officers involved in the pursuit were receiving support from police.

"The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation and as such we're unable to release further details at this stage.

"I want to offer my sincerest condolences to the loved ones of Mr McCaul."

Meanwhile a Christchurch paramedic has spoken of his frustration at the behaviour of teenagers involved in a recent crash.

A paramedic told Newstalk ZB's Chris Lynch he attended a different crash in Rangiora two weeks ago where a teenager rolled their vehicle at high speed.

He says the scene was immediately flooded with friends wanting to take photos for social media.

Meanwhile, a research paper into people who flee police, released today, has found they feel they will be treated as guilty anyway so carry on driving.

As for youth, their lack of cognitive development was a "significant" factor as was risk taking and the want to elude police.