Taipa powerlines crash drama

Photo / Martin Sykes

A Northland policewoman escaped electrocution when her patrol car became tangled in live 11,000-volt powerlines after a fatal crash.

The lines fell across Oruru Rd, south of Taipa, when a driver fleeing from a police checkpoint crashed into a power pole and died about 3.30am on Sunday.

The man killed was John Bowman Yates, 22, from Taipa.

The power company cut the electricity feed to the area and the officer was freed unhurt.