Artificial leg a daily reminder of police car crash horror

A motorcyclist who lost his leg when hit by a police car doing a U-turn, says a similar crash which killed a man earlier this week was like "bad deja vu".

Speaking publicly for the first time, Henricus Deijkers said his left leg below the knee was amputated as a "result of my left foot being ripped off by the impact" and he received life-threatening injuries to his upper left leg.

The December 2007 crash on State Highway 2 near Maramarua, south of Auckland, happened as a police car started to chase a speeding Mercedes.

The crash was similar to the one in which motorcyclist Paul Brown was killed this week in Te Kauwhata.

Mr Deijkers, who now walks with a prosthetic leg, said the Te Kauwhata crash brought back memories from his own ordeal.

"Reading news like this is spine shivering ... it was only a matter of time before a fatality like this would occur. A bad deja vu."

He said the police officer involved had visited him twice in hospital and had admitted guilt from the start.

"I, we, have moved on since then ... and although I'm reminded of the accident every day when I need to put on my prothesis, I'm trying to live my life like before the accident.

"Me, my wife and three kids have all forgiven the police officer and we told him face-to-face that we don't feel bad about him. It was an accident and nothing more.

"I was very lucky - been through the eye of a needle.

"We are all so thankful I'm still alive, especially after reading that story a few days back."

The police officer in the 2007 crash was charged with careless driving causing injury and fined $500 in the Papakura District Court four months after the crash.

Counties Manukau police spokeswoman Ani-Mari Gates-Bowey said the man was not disqualified from driving.

He also underwent an internal police investigation. She would not reveal the result as it was "a private employment matter between the Commissioner and the officer and will not be discussed in a public forum".