The 18-year-old man who died in a fatal crash on Mountain Road last night is identified as Levi Green from Tauranga.
He was driving a white Nissan Cefiro which crashed after failing to stop for police, said a police statement.
The vehicle then accelerated away and within seconds disappeared over a bank, while one of the officers was still on the radio reporting that the vehicle had failed to stop.
A serious crash investigation will continue.