Car thieves create mayhem

Hayley Stubbs and Gordon Dobbs arrived home to a demolished fence. Pictures / Greg Bowker

Three drivers, allegedly targeting high-performance cars, caused havoc in the Waikato yesterday morning, ramming a police car and taking out a Huntly couple's front fence.

At 9.45 yesterday morning, a stolen Subaru was driven through the exit barrier arms at the Centreplace Carpark in Hamilton. Police believe it was driven by one of a team of three.

Waikato police communications manager Kris McGehan said the Subaru was chased along State Highway 1 at speeds of up to 145km/h until just north of Huntly, when a stolen Mercedes pulled into sight and drove at speed into the passenger side of the police car.

The Mercedes then moved ahead of the police car and reversed into its front before taking off after the Subaru, Ms McGehan said.

Meanwhile, another chase had started in north Huntly.

Ms McGehan said a stolen Subaru Forrester was driven at speed up State Highway 1, taking the Ohinewai/Tahuna offramp on the new expressway north of Huntly before heading south down the old state highway.

The driver headed back towards Huntly and down Russell Rd but lost control on a bend, narrowly missing a powerpole and taking out Gordon Dobbs and Hayley Stubb's front fence.

Ms McGehan said the driver, from Auckland, ran from the car across paddocks, and was chased by police, who eventually caught and arrested him.

Mr Dobbs and Ms Stubbs arrived home from Auckland, where they had been picking up a new Subaru, to find the mess.

"I thought a tree must have fallen over. You don't expect to come home to this sort of thing," Mr Dobbs said.

The car had stopped on the next- door neighbour's front lawn.

A woman at the house said she heard a loud bang and thought it was the roof coming off a house.

 

The driver had run off through her section.

Huntly Sergeant Blair Donaldson said the stolen Mercedes was found at the Onetia offramp further along State Highway 1.

Police believe the people in the Mercedes were picked up by the Subaru that got away.

Mr Donaldson said the Subaru Forrester that crashed in Huntly had recently been stolen from a Te Aroha car yard and had registration plates stolen from a car in Morrinsville.

A police scanner was found in the stolen Mercedes and Mr Donaldson said it was likely the three drivers were all talking to each other as the chases were under way.

Yesterday's chases follow the theft of high-performance cars from two dealers on the North Shore last week.

It was not known if the thefts were linked.