KEY POINTS:
A stolen car being chased by police on the Southern Motorway ended up mounting the median barrier, closing two lanes and holding up traffic heading away for Christmas.
Two police cars received minor panel damage in the crash.
Officers spotted the tan-coloured Ford Telstar about 9.45am on the corner of Hobson and Cook Sts in central Auckland and started following it after a registration check showed it was stolen.
The male driver refused to stop and police chased him for about 10 minutes on the motorway southbound to Mt Wellington before he hit the median barrier and the car flipped on its side.
It began leaking petrol and Fire Service northern communications centre shift manager Mel Barbara said a dispersing agent was used to clean it up.
Traffic crawled for about an hour while emergency services worked to clear the scene and reopen two of the three southbound lanes.
Auckland resident Brad McEvoy was travelling to Hamilton for Christmas with his wife and 18-month-old son when about half a dozen police cars with their sirens on came up behind them near Newmarket.
"They were trying to box in some guy in a dodgy old car. He wasn't stopping and they were calling out to him on a loudspeaker. But he still indicated to change lanes - a very careful criminal.
"They got a couple of guys in front of him to try to stop him and he manoeuvred his way around them. Then I think they got a bit more aggressive and tried to box him in really tightly.
"Then he's ended up shooting up on the median barrier and the car ended up on its side. One of the police cars got pushed into it, too."
Inspector Matt Sillars said a man was to appear in the Auckland District Court this morning.
