Auckland Northern Motorway fleeing driver: Lanes closed, police cars rammed

An Auckland driver says she saw broken chunks of motorway and smelled burnt rubber when she drove past the end of a dramatic chase on the city’s Northern Motorway.

Three police cars were damaged after a car that was trying to evade officers for more than two hours was finally stopped by road spikes during peak travel time. The dramatic conclusion saw three lanes closed across the motorway.

Courtney Winter and her two children had been travelling north when they saw the incident unfold.

“We were on the northern side of the motorway heading into Silverdale and the chase was heading into Auckland so we had a clear view of them passing us,” Winter said.

“We saw eight police cars chasing him then another two slowly escorting traffic about 1km behind them.

“We had the median barrier between us. My two kids got really excited.

“He was travelling around 24km/h before stopping.”

Winter said you could smell the rubber and hear the grinding metal on stone.

“From when we first saw him to where he got pulled over in that state on his rims, we followed the scraping in the road.”

Winter normally has a dashcam on her car but has not installed it yet so could not capture the footage.

“I was kind of kicking myself on that one. Also, I was driving in traffic so I couldn’t record on my phone at the time.”

In a video, the wrecked car could be seen on the side of the road sitting on its rims while a wrecked police car could be seen on a tow truck a few metres in front of it.

A police spokesperson said they took one person into custody following a protracted fleeing driver incident.

“At around 4.45pm a vehicle failed to stop for police when signalled to do so, on State Highway 1, Northern Motorway. Police had concerns for the wellbeing of the driver and maintained observations of the vehicle, eventually spiking the tyres and bringing it to a stop on the Northern Motorway near Oteha Valley on/off ramps.

“While no injuries were reported, three police vehicles were damaged after the fleeing driver collided with them as the vehicle was brought to a stop. Charges are being considered.”

Police wish to thank motorists for their patience while this incident was resolved, delays are still being experienced on the roading network but are expected to clear soon.”

Traffic on the motorway had backed up more than 4km.