Police pursuit through West Auckland ends when car is spiked

A fleeing driver was brought to a dramatic stop on the Northwestern Motorway. Photo / Hayden Woodward

A fleeing driver was brought to a dramatic stop after he sped through several West Auckland suburbs before his car was spiked on the motorway.

Police attempted to stop the driver of a vehicle that was said to be "acting suspiciously" around Pt Chevalier about 1.46am.

"[The] driver failed to stop for police and fled the area," a spokesman said.

The Police Eagle helicopter helped to keep an eye on the vehicle as officers on the ground chased it down the Northwestern motorway.

Police search a vehicle on the Northwestern motorway in Massey, West Auckland, after a police pursuit. Photo / Hayden Woodward

"It was eventually stopped on the Royal Rd on-ramp and the driver was taken into custody."

A witness told the Herald the driver was a man who had been wearing a balaclava and that he was only brought to a stop when police laid road spikes.

"Officers surrounded the vehicle, pulled him from the driver's seat and arrested him," he said.

The witness said officers appeared to show a "large amount of interest" in the car's boot and were seen searching inside it at the scene.

The car was stopped about 200m before the Huruhuru overbridge in the suburb of Massey.

Police confirmed the incident did not relate to the Wellsford homicide investigation - in which officers continue to hunt Desmond Lawrence Bourne, 45, and Serene Tilsley, 21, in relation to the murder of 37-year-old Zane Smith, of Rodney.