A Hamilton dad driving his Tesla and those in a truck-and-trailer unit transporting a house were among motorists who escaped catastrophe when a suspect fleeing police crashed a vehicle reportedly stolen at gunpoint in South Auckland.
The car crashed in Northern Waikato soon after being spiked, with the driver tasered and arrested before handguns and live ammunition were recovered from the vehicle, police said Wednesday morning.
Michael McCabe was driving home on the Southern Motorway near the Bombay Hills about 12.30am when he realised he was in the middle of a police operation to nab another motorist.
“A cop car pulled up behind me, and then he pulled off and parked on the side of the road. And then about two minutes later a car with black tinted windows – the whole car was black – went past, and I could smell it. It smelled like someone had been doing donuts.
“I drive a Tesla, so my car’s quiet, and this thing was loud. It sounded like the gearbox was falling out … I’m pretty sure when he went past us, he was on rims … and the guy had his lights off.”
Soon after, six or seven police cars followed, McCabe said.
“A bunch of policemen went flying past very, very quickly. I could see the [police Eagle] helicopter out in the distance, and it was definitely following that car.”
About 15 minutes later, McCabe came around a corner to discover traffic backed up because the vehicle had crashed.
Among those stranded was a truck-and-trailer unit transporting a house, which McCabe believed had been struck by the fleeing driver’s vehicle.
But a police spokesman said the unit and its load escaped harm.
“The vehicle did manoeuvre past a truck and trailer, but did not make contact.”
As he tried to see what was happening, McCabe said he saw two police officers run past him, before returning with three Bushmaster rifles.
“They were armed to the teeth … and they went up to the situation.”
He said he wasn’t afraid because there were so many people around – not just motorists, but also several ambulances and fire engines.
“Everyone had jumped out of their cars and come up to the cops to find out what was going on … the cops did ask us eventually to get back in our cars.”
Police were alerted to the driver at the centre of last night’s incident after he was seen at the wheel of a “vehicle of interest” on Dominion Rd, Sandringham, about 11.40pm, Acting Auckland City district commander Grant Tetzlaff said.
The vehicle had been reported stolen at gunpoint earlier in the day from the South Auckland area, Tetzlaff said.
The Eagle helicopter spotted the vehicle entering the Southern Motorway at Newmarket and travelling towards East Tāmaki.
When the driver exited the motorway on to East Tāmaki Rd, police officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but it “took off at speed”, he said.
“The driver was seen driving in a dangerous manner through South Auckland, turning off its lights and reaching high speeds on residential streets.”
After re-entering the motorway at State Highway 20, the driver travelled south towards Te Kauwhata.
“Police units were able to spike the vehicle and it continued for a short distance before losing control and crashing into wire median dividers.”
As police approached the vehicle, the sole occupant barricaded himself inside, Tetzlaff said.
“Officers observed live ammunition on his lap. Police deployed a taser, before being able to extract the man from the vehicle.
“He was taken into custody and transported to Waikato Hospital in a moderate condition after receiving injuries from a dog bite during his arrest.”
Two handguns and a large amount of live ammunition were found in the vehicle.
“It is pleasing that these firearms are now out of circulation in our community.”
A 30-year-old man would face charges of failing to stop, reckless driving, receiving, possession of firearms and resisting arrest, Tetzlaff said.
“Police are continuing to make inquiries into the initial stolen vehicle report, and we cannot rule out further charges in that matter.
“As standard procedure, the Independent Police Conduct Authority will be notified of the incident.”