A Napier mother has "shocked" police by allegedly fleeing from officers when they discovered four unrestrained children during a vehicle inspection, and later found three more in the boot under a cargo cover.
Constable Andrew O'Sullivan of Wairoa Police said he was alerted to a black Subaru stationwagon by a RoadSafe Hawke's Bay spotter on Achilles St, in the northern Hawke's Bay town on Tuesday.
Upon inspection, police claim to have found Tracy Waihape, 39, was transporting a two-year-old, a three-year-old and two 14-year-olds unrestrained and in non-compliant car seats that were not secured to the body of the car.
When checking the vehicle, police discovered the warrant had expired in 2011, registration had expired in 2012 and Waihape was unlicensed and had been forbidden from driving since 2010.
"I told her that we would be impounding the car and then I stepped behind the car because there were a few trucks waiting to pass, and that's when I noticed her winding her window up."