There was silence before crowds from an 'out of control' party started to gather around the scene of a fatal crash that claimed the life of a Tauranga man last night.
18-year-old Levi Green was the driver and sole occupants of a Nissan Cefiro that plunged down the side of a 10 metre bank in attempts to flee from police.
Bay man Rodolfo Palma who lives near the scene of the crash on Mountain Rd said he looked out his bedroom window to see crowds from a nearby party gather on the road where a vehicle went off the bank.
"I looked out my window and saw people [from the party] start to come out and I see some car went down," said Mr Palma.
"About 80 people came out and see [the car] had fallen down the bank."