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Two people died and two others were critically injured when a car crashed shortly after police abandoned a pursuit of it in the Auckland suburb of Onehunga last night.
A police northern communications spokesman said that police were called to the Queentown Road overbridge in Onehunga about 8.55pm after aperson was allegedly shining a red laser beam onto motorists travelling on the Mangere Bridge motorway.
When they arrived they saw a motorist speeding away from the area and turned to pursue the fleeing driver.
The spokesman said that after about 200 metres they abandoned the pursuit given the dangerous manner in which the offending vehicle was being driven.
The vehicle was seen by police to run a red light at speed.
The car continued for another 200 metres after the pursuit was abandoned before it crashed into a power pole in Church Street.
There were four occupants. Two have been taken to hospital with critical injuries and two were confirmed dead.
Both the serious crash unit and CIB staff are at the scene.
TVNZ reported that witnesses told reporters they saw the car being chased by an unmarked police vehicle.
A witness told One News he saw the car hit a roundabout, flip and hit a post.
Other witnesses have told media they saw people screaming at the scene.
Police pursuits have been under the spotlight after a man fleeing police crashed into a car and killed Norman Fitt, 73, and Deidre Jordan, 67 in Christchurch.
Police Minister Judith Collins at the time said anyone who tried to outrun police were "utter morons".
