170km/h race before crash

A 21-year-old man told police he had been driving at up to 170km/h on the night of a crash that killed two young men.

Matakohi Matthew Morgan, now 23, was the driver of a car alleged to have been racing with a vehicle driven by Ricky Smith in the early hours of November 12, 2004.

Smith lost control of his car and crashed between Pukekohe and Waiuku at a speed estimated by police to have been about 150km/h.

Two teenagers, Luke Hall and Tyson Bruggy, died in the crash.

Smith subsequently pleaded guilty to two charges of manslaughter, and has been dealt with by the court.

Morgan now also faces two charges of dangerous driving causing manslaughter, in a trial in the High Court at Auckland which is believed to be one of the first of its kind.

The court heard from police and expert witnesses as the Crown wrapped up its case yesterday morning.

Constable Sheree Schick said she had interviewed Morgan in the hours following the crash.

He told her, in a statement read to the court, that he and Smith had been following one another between Sandspit Beach, Waiuku and Pukekohe.

Morgan claimed to have been travelling between 110km/h and 120km/h at the time, and Smith was "right up my arse".

Smith had attempted to overtake him in the final moments before losing control, he said.

"All I remember was seeing a whole lot of dust and stones," Morgan said in his statement.

But he later told police he had been travelling between 140km/h and 160km/h before the accident, at one stage reaching 170km/h.

When Smith overtook him, Morgan accelerated to speeds "off the clock" in an attempt to catch him.

He soon slowed down, however, at the insistence of his passengers. It was then Smith lost control of his car.

Morgan had held a learner's licence for three years at the time of the crash.

Police crash analyst Sheree Cooke told the court evidence at the scene showed Smith's car to have been travelling about 178km/h as control was lost. It would have been moving about 150km/h (41.6m a second) as it left the road, she said.

Proceedings were stopped for the afternoon, while Justice David Baragwanath heard legal arguments, the details of which are suppressed.

Morgan was expected to decide today whether he will give or call evidence in his own defence.