A man who witnessed the aftermath of a pursuit crash in Palmerston North has described the devastation he saw first hand.
A blue Subaru driven by a fleeing 15-year-old driver crashed into a ditch on Pioneer Highway at the intersection with Shirriffs Road yesterday about 1.30pm.
A 12-year-old girl, a passenger, died at the scene and the 15-year-old male driver died later in hospital.
The driver was wanted for breaching his bail conditions and failed to stop for police.
A 12-year-old female passenger in the car was killed in the crash, and the 15-year-old driver died soon after in hospital.
A second young woman was a passenger in the back seat, and suffered serious injuries.
She is now stable in hospital.
The 15-year-old male driver and a 12-year-old female passenger died as a result of the crash.
Dion Labaschagne was at work at O'Leary Engineering when he heard "a roar, and then a thud" before seeing sparks flying at the end of the driveway.
"I saw my colleague and my workmate running down the driveway, and I followed them, and as we got out I noticed that the power lines had been struck and were lying about chest-height across the road," Mr Labaschagne said.
"First thing I did was stop the traffic on both sides, and then ran to the scene where the vehicle was embedded in the ditch.
"I noticed there was a young girl, trapped in the vehicle, hanging out of the vehicle.
"I feel so sorry for the family members that have lost those children - it is sad."
It has been reported by the NZ Herald that the 12-year-old girl had a brother who was killed in a police pursuit in Australia in 2013.
He was 18 and a passenger in a stolen car.
Police are investigating yesterday's crash, as is the Serious Crash Unit.
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