Trio on the run after ram-raid burglary

Photo / file

Three people are on the run after a ram-raid burglary in Auckland overnight ended in a high speed chase and a crash on the motorway.

The three people in the car fled the scene, abandoning their stolen vehicle across two motorway lanes, causing an oncoming car to crash into it.

The unsuspecting driver escaped with bruises, police said.

The dramatic incident began around 12.45am following a report of a ram-raid burglary on a liquor shop in Torbay. A stolen vehicle believed to be involved in the burglary was later spotted by police on the Northern Motorway.

"When police tried to stop the vehicle it failed to do so," police said. "The pursuit went south over the Harbour Bridge and continued until it was abandoned by police due to high speed and the danger to the public."

The fleeing driver continued at high speed on the motorway until the car was spiked at Mt Wellington.

The car was then followed as it started to lose tyre pressure. But police stopped the chase after the driver turned off the motorway at Highbrook before re-entering the motorway again turning south in a northbound lane at Highbrook.

"It continued south for a short distance, collided with the concrete barrier, and the three occupants then ran from the vehicle, leaving it across two lanes of the motorway," police said.

Shortly afterwards a northbound vehicle smashed into the abandoned vehicle. The driver was checked by ambulance staff but escaped with bruising.

The fleeing offenders in the stolen vehicle are yet to be found.

The trio were thought to be male youths, police said.

The stolen vehicle would undergo forensic examination in the coming days for clues in identifying them.