Concerns for man who dived into river after pursuit

Cambridge Police are concerned for the wellbeing of a man who dived into the Waikato River in Cambridge overnight. The incident occurred at the end of a pursuit involving the man who had been driving a Fiat hatchback car and had refused to stop for police.

Several minutes earlier police had tried to stop the car in Leamington, Cambridge. The driver led police in a pursuit along Maungatautiri Road to Karapiro where he did a U turn and drove back to Cambridge. The car went along Shakespeare Street towards the Low Level Bridge at which point it drove over spikes that had been deployed to stop it. The man then drove his car into a rest area near the low level bridge at the southern part of Cambridge where he got out of the car and dove into the river.

Police searched the river edge with the help of a police dog and deployed the police rescue boat but were unable to find him. “We are concerned for his safety because it is about a 10 meter drop where he dove in and there has been no sign of him since. While we believe we know his identity, the officers involved in the pursuit did not get a good look at the man when he ran from his car so more enquiries are necessary to confirm his identity.”

Police will continue the search for him, which may include using the Police Dive Squad.