The officer contacted police who found the car driving on Scott St in the suburb of Leamington about 15 minutes later.
They turned on their lights and sirens, but the driver did not stop, Lynam said, and the chase began.
Moments later, the red BMW with a black bonnet crashed on Scott St, landing on its side at the intersection with Moore St.
Local resident Michael Ritchie told Fairfax he heard a "thud, thud, thud" as the car rolled down Scott St.
A young woman was thrown from the car and landed next to a power pole, where Ritchie found her "barely breathing".
"We just stayed there yelling, 'Breathe, breathe, breathe'," he told Fairfax.
Ritchie has seen his share of fatal accidents and couldn't face holding the girl's hand. But then she suddenly "took a gulp of air", Fairfax reported.
She is now in Waikato Hospital's ICU in a critical condition.
Another witness, Peter Andreason, told Fairfax the driver had tried to "bunk it" but residents grabbed him and brought him back.
"He was saying, 'I'm a f...-up, I'm a f...-up'," Andreason said.
Residents on the street said the Scott and Moore St intersection was a known spot for boy racers performing burnouts.
Taylor Roach said he and friend Karl Keoghan were watching the news when they heard a loud bang and went outside to investigate.
Roach estimated the skid marks from the crash to be between 50 metres and 100m long.
The skid marks cut across a lawn on the left hand side of the road before the car collected a parked car in a driveway, continued into a fence and hit a low concrete wall.
It appears to have been propelled into the air and a witness said it rolled up to five times before coming to rest on the opposite side of the intersection.
Cambridge Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Don Gerrand said the brigade cut the roof off the BMW to free two trapped people with serious injuries.
One person was in the rear of the car and the other in the front. A third person was thrown from the car, Gerrand said, but it was one of the trapped victims who died at the scene after firefighters tried in vain to keep him alive with CPR.
A Waikato Hospital spokeswoman said a woman was in critical condition in the intensive care unit, a man was in a serious condition in the high dependency unit and another man remained stable on a ward tonight.
A hearse arrived at the scene at 9.45pm yesterday and this morning the wreckage of the car was gone.
Shattered glass, mounds of dirt and police tag lines were all that was evident of the crash.
A blessing was held at the site this morning.
"Fleeing driver incidents are incredibly tragic for all of those involved, including our staff," Lynam said.
"This once again demonstrates the tragic consequences if a driver chooses not to stop for police."
Police said the driver will appear in the Hamilton District Court when his injuries allow it.
The police serious crash unit is investigating, and the crash has been referred to the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA).
