Wellington car thief arrested after crashing into power pole while fleeing police

Crash causing major delays near Belmont on State Highway 2 in Wellington. Photo/NZTA

A driver has been arrested after leading police on a chase along a Wellington motorway that ended when he crashed the stolen car into a power pole.

The chase started in Johnsonville just after 4pm after the driver failed to stop, Inspector Mike Coleman of Police Central Communications said.

"They followed him through onto the motorway in Wellington and headed out to the Hutt where [he] hit a power pole."

Coleman said the driver had not been badly injured and has been arrested.

The crash happened at 4.20pm. One lane of State Highway 2 is blocked near the Belmont intersection while the Serious Crash Unit investigates.

Traffic is heavy in both directions and the NZTA has warned people to expect major delays after a crash near Belmont.

CRASH: #SH2 Belmont blocking left hand southbound lane. There is major delays in both directions so please be patient and take extra care. pic.twitter.com/QUjPkLRMeD

— Waka Kotahi Wellington (@WakaKotahiWgtn) August 3, 2017