Two killed in collision with car fleeing police

One of the cars involved in last night's fatal crash. Photo / Simon Baker

Two innocent people were killed last night after a car involved in a police chase collided head-on with another vehicle.

The pair - a man, 73, and an elderly woman - were in the car struck by the vehicle, which ran a red light as its driver tried to evade police.

The fleeing driver, thought to be in his 20s, was initially said to have suffered moderate injuries in the smash but this morning he was reported to be in intensive care with internal injuries and a gash to his head.

The collision took place on one of Christchurch's most notorious street-racing roads.

"Blame for this tragedy lies entirely with this driver," Inspector Malcolm Johnston said.

"He was signalled to stop and he should have stopped.

"He is a disqualified driver and well known to Christchurch police. He could have killed anyone at any stage. I have spoken with the officers involved and they are devastated."

At the scene, North Canterbury police district commander Inspector David Lawry told the Herald: "It's a tragedy for those involved and the families of the deceased."

The chase started after the man's car was clocked at 89km/h on Ferry Rd just after 8pm.

Despite initially slowing down for police, the driver took off and ran the red light at the intersection of Fitzgerald Ave and Gloucester St.

"A person in a vehicle failed to stop" said Mr Lawry. "There was a period of about 30 seconds between police engaging in a pursuit and the crash occurring. The car was not warranted or registered."

The patrol car appeared to be quite a long way behind the other vehicle when it crashed, Mr Lawry said.

Mr Johnston: "Police were duty bound to stop this driver. Travelling at nearly 90km/h along Ferry Rd is a recipe for disaster."

Paramedics and firefighters arrived at the scene shortly after 8pm.

About an hour later, firefighters held a blue tarpaulin around one of the vehicles. St John Ambulance spokesman Ian Henderson said one person was confirmed dead at the scene.

The critically injured elderly woman was taken to Christchurch Hospital, but later died.

Fitzgerald Ave is a Christchurch boy-racer haunt, and has been the target of operations against street racing.

Mr Lawry said the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) would be notified and a full investigation would be made.

The two people killed are the eighth and ninth to die during police chases since December last year.

Less than two months ago, Police Minister Judith Collins met Police Commissioner Howard Broad to discuss recommendations for police pursuits after two reviews, one by the IPCA and the other by the police.

The IPCA report questioned whether police should start high-speed chases for minor offences such as speeding, property theft or suspicion of crime.

The authority analysed 137 pursuits in the five years to December 2008 and found that 24 people were killed and 91 seriously hurt. Another 122 had minor injuries.

Police make about 2000 pursuits a year, and one in four ends in a crash.

The authority's report was published at the same time as a coroner's findings into the death of Peter Joseph Kotsifakis, 18, who died in July 2008 after a police pursuit.

Coroner Carla na Nagara recommended police add to procedures the phrase, "Can the suspect be apprehended safely later?"

In June, Christchurch man Troy MacKay, 22, was killed when the car he was in hit a tree during a pursuit.

Paul Brown, 38, died near Huntly in April after police collided with his motorbike while doing a u-turn to chase a speeding driver.

A month earlier, 27-year-old Israel Maki Tane Porter, 27, died when he crashed at a Waikato intersection seconds after police ended a pursuit.

In February, Chase Glen Buckton, 23, was carrying his mother, Patricia Neary, 41, as a pillion passenger when he crashed his motorbike after a 40-second police pursuit.

He died and Mrs Neary was seriously injured.

That was a month after Ricky Alan Forbes, 35, died when the car in which he was a passenger slammed into a tree in Murchison during a police chase.

In January, motorcyclist Leith David Barnes, 28, died minutes after police abandoned their pursuit of him in Wellington.

He was found at the bottom of a 10-metre bank near Tawa.

The bad run began in December when Martyn Dillon, 22, died after crashing into a fence at high speed in Palmerston North, just after police stopped pursuing his motorcycle.

Drivers who flee police can face a $10,000 penalty, but it is rarely imposed.