Upper Hutt crash: Two in custody after alleged fleeing driver smashes into parked cars

Multiple vehicles were damaged in the crash. Image / Wellington Area Emergency

• A driver allegedly fleeing police in Upper Hutt crashed into multiple parked vehicles.
• Two people abandoned the wrecked vehicle; both were later taken into custody.
• A 37-year-old man will appear in the Hutt Valley District Court, charged with driving offences.

There are scenes of devastation in Upper Hutt after a driver allegedly fleeing police smashed into multiple parked vehicles.

Police say they spotted a vehicle of interest on Whakatiki St on Monday morning and signalled it to stop, but it fled.

In an attempt to stop the fleeing vehicle, spikes were deployed on Fergusson Drive.

The driver managed to avoid the spikes but crashed into multiple parked vehicles.

Video from the scene showed several vehicles with smashed fronts and scraped sides.

A low fence at the front of the property had also been knocked over, leaving rubble strewn across the driveway.

The property’s owner told Stuff the crash was “the loudest noise [she had] ever heard”.

One vehicle at the property was “a total write-off”, she said.

And she wasn’t confident insurance would pay for the damage as their vehicle was uninsured.

“I’m not holding out hope,” she told Stuff.

Footage of the aftermath sparked anger from the community at the amount of damage.

“The devastation this has caused right after Christmas, how gutting. I hope everyone is okay,” one person commented.

“That’s really bad. Those poor innocent people getting caught up in one idiotic person’s actions,” another person said.

Police said after the crash two people abandoned the wrecked vehicle and fled on foot into the back of nearby properties.

Police found one man shortly afterwards and he was taken into custody at the scene.

Another person was tracked with a dog unit to Hood Ave where they were taken into custody without incident.

Police found a small amount of ammunition in their vehicle.

A 37-year-old man is to appear in the Hutt Valley District Court on Tuesday, January 7, charged with a number of driving offences.

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