Two pursuits end fatally in Tasman District

Two people have died in separate crashes overnight after being pursued by police.

Both incidents occurred in Tasman district.

The first incident occurred at approximately 11:47 on Saturday night, on Waikawa Road, Picton (Marlborough District).

A police patrol saw a speeding motorcyclist and pillion passenger, and believed the driver to be drunk. After a pursuit lasing approximately 40 seconds, the motorbike crashed.

No other vehicles were involved.

The male driver died at the scene and the female pillion passenger was flown to Wellington hospital in a serious condition.

The second incident occurred at approximately 2:42 on Sunday morning on Four Rivers Highway (State Highway 6) in Murchison (Nelson Bays District).

Police were alerted to a vehicle doing burn-outs outside licensed premises.

They entered a pursuit which lasted approximately one minute.

The pursued car accelerated away and subsequently crashed.

No other vehicles were involved.

There were two people in the car.

The passenger died instantly; the driver was flown to Nelson Hospital in a critical condition.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority will investigate both incidents. 

Vehicle fatality near Murchison 21 Feb

Nelson Police are this morning investigating a vehicle crash north of Murchison at around 2.40am that has resulted in the death of one occupant. The driver has been flown to Nelson hospital in the rescue helicopter and is in a critical condition.

Police were initially called to an incident at a local licensed premises, and then to reports of a vehicle doing burnouts at the same location.

The vehicle, a Subaru WRX, was requested to stop in the centre of Murchison, but accelerated away to the north, reaching speeds of around 150 kmh.

Attending police activated pursuit procedures and followed the vehicle northwards, but lost sight of it near the golf course.

Nelson Bays Area Commander, Detective Inspector John Winter, said the car has lost control in roadworks near the Longford turnoff, and has failed to negotiate the sweeping left bend. It has exited the road through a fence and hit a large gum tree, splitting the vehicle in half. The 2 halves of the car lie 30 metres apart.

The police car initially sighted a dust cloud and then a debris trail, before discovering the crashed vehicle in a field.

The identity of the occupants of the car is not known at present. The car is registered to an Invercargill address.

Detective Inspector Winter said that the IPCA would be advised this morning, and were likely to conduct their own investigation. A formal police inquiry was now underway, with CIB and crash investigation staff en route to the scene. The highway would be shut in the interim until the initial scene was photographed and marked.

Nelson Police attending 2nd fatal motor accident


Nelson Police are currently attending a fatal motor accident in the Marsden Valley, directly outside the Cemetery.

Nelson Bays Area Commander, Detective Inspector John Winter, said that police, fire and ambulance staff are in attendance. A vehicle has left the road at high speed and impacted a tree, causing substantial damage to the car.

3 occupants are confirmed dead, and a fourth has just been removed from the scene by ambulance. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

The identities of the deceased are at this stage unknown, but they are believed to be from Nelson.

A crash investigator will be on the scene shortly.

This is the second fatal motor accident within a few hours in the Nelson Bays area. Police are still at the scene of the earlier fatal accident at Murchison that occurred around 2.40am this morning.