Car driven on wrong side of Auckland motorway before crashing - police

July 14, 2019
Side shot of a police car.

A young man allegedly drove a stolen car on the wrong side of an Auckland motorway during a police pursuit this morning.

Police say a suspected stolen vehicle failed to stop for police on Robertson Road in South Auckland about 7.35am. 

Police followed the vehicle, however it entered the southwestern motorway at Walmsley Road in Māngere, travelling north in southbound lanes, and the pursuit was immediately abandoned, police said in a statement. 

The driver was tracked by the Police Eagle helicopter, and the vehicle was observed to have crashed about 100 metres from the off-ramp. 

The offender then stole another vehicle and continued along the motorway on the right side of the road, police said. 

The driver exited the motorway onto Alten road in the central city, then abandoned the vehicle in an underground carpark on Eden Crescent. 

A man was found in a stairwell in a property nearby and was taken into custody without incident, police said. 

The 22-year-old man is scheduled to appear in Manukau District Court tomorrow on charges including reckless driving, failing to stop and unlawfully taking a motor vehicle.

SHARE ME