Call to police: 'I could have stopped crash'

The car in which the two crash victims were driving when they were hit in Christchurch. Photo / Simon Baker

A petrol station attendant has spoken of her devastation for failing to call 111 after smelling alcohol on the breath of a driver just hours before a crash which killed two people.

Meri Robinson phoned her local police station in Akaroa near Christchurch after she detected alcohol on the breath of Phillip Bannan but the station was unattended.

She could have pushed 0 on the phone to be connected to the Christchurch central police station or dialled the 111 emergency number but decided not to.

Three hours later Bannan sped through a red light while evading police and killed two people in Christchurch on Thursday.

Exercise partners Norm Fitt, 73, and Deidre Jordan, 67, died when Bannan's Ford Mondeo smashed into their vehicle in central Christchurch about 8pm.

Last night Robinson said: "I felt so guilty. I wish the hell like I had pushed '0' and rung Christchurch. I feel that if I'd rung the police in Christchurch I could have stopped that.

"I just want to say to them that my heart goes out to the families.

"Those people have lost someone so dear to them and I'm sorry it had to happen."

"I feel sorry for the families of the two he's taken out," she said. Bannan, who is recovering from his injuries in Christchurch Hospital, has been charged with driving while disqualified.

He is expected to face more serious charges this week.

Police confirmed they had taken a blood sample to test for alcohol. The results will be known in two weeks.

Robinson has known Bannan since he was child. He was intelligent and a "brilliant" sportsman, she said.

"With $30 (of petrol), I knew it wasn't around Akaroa he was going to venture, I knew it was Christchurch.

"He came in and he was quite sheepish. He parked the vehicle and fumbled with the petrol cap. I could smell alcohol on his breath," she said.

Bannan was raised by his mother Fiona after his parents separated and had then lived with his grandfather Bruce Rhodes.

But he had struggled to find direction, said Robinson.

Madeira Hotel bar manager Timothy Francis said Bannan had been banned from drinking at the pub six months ago for a period of two years because of disorderly behaviour.

Robinson hoped the accident would be a wake-up call for Bannan.

When she learned of the crash on Friday, she notified police.

"Something like this had to happen for him to open his eyes, but it's too late - he's going to be put away for a long time."

Rhodes said his grandson was a good person. "He's always been good to me."

Deidre's husband Meynell Jordan told One News last night: "That person has not just destroyed Deidre's life he has made a gap in mine."

Norm's son Steve Fitt said: "Because I have a son the same age I feel that the parents must be devastated on the other side that their son has just wiped his whole life away."

Akaroa Senior Constable Steve Ditmer said the Akaroa station was unattended because police had been out on a job. He said police were trying to piece together the hours from when Bannan left Akaroa until the crash.

He said the accident had "rocked the community".

The deaths have reignited debate about whether officers should chase motorists in such circumstances.

Police Minister Judith Collins warned motorists yesterday if they fled police, there was a high chance of tragedy.

"A very strong message needs to be sent that if they run, there is a good chance they or other innocent people will die," she said.