Police vehicle collides head-on with parked ute on Kaitāia street while responding to call

Inquiries are under way after a police vehicle responding to an emergency collided head-on with a ute on a street in the Far North this afternoon.

A witness claimed the patrol vehicle was overtaking another vehicle, which it hit, then swerved into the front of the parked ute in Kaitāia just before 3pm.

The ute then reportedly rolled back after it was struck, damaging another vehicle parked behind it.

The owner of the parked ute said their vehicle was a write-off. Photo / Lina Honey

Images from the scene shared with the Herald show damage to four vehicles, including the police car.

A woman claiming to be the wife of the man whose ute was struck said her husband was released from hospital yesterday after open heart surgery the week earlier, “and now he has no vehicle”.

“We heard it and walked out as [the] police officers were getting out of [the] car with air bags set off,” she said.

She claimed her husband’s ute was a write-off.

One of the damaged vehicles at the scene. Photo / Lina Honey

A police spokesperson said a patrol vehicle was responding to an emergency with lights and sirens when it collided with a member of the public’s vehicle at the intersection of Lake Rd and Williams St.

“Thankfully no one was injured,” the spokesperson said.

“Both vehicles sustained moderate damage and inquiries remain ongoing.”

Police were not yet able to say if other vehicles had been damaged or how the incident occurred.

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