An 11-year-old who allegedly crashed a car carrying four passengers aged under 10 gave a police officer the fingers before speeding off.
Police spotted a vehicle near Rotorua on Friday after 5pm and noticed it suddenly veer off the road and crash into a rock on the side of the road.
Bay of Plenty District Command Centre Senior Sergeant Denis Murphy told the Rotorua Daily Post the officer approached the vehicle and "suddenly a little head popped up from behind the driver's side".
"The youth 'flipped the bird' to the police officer and sped off again."
Murphy said the vehicle had a couple of blown-out tyres and was extensively damaged, and smoke was coming from the engine.