Driver eludes police, kills child

A driver who crashed into a car, killing a young boy and seriously injuring himself and two others yesterday, was being sought by police before the accident, after reports he had been travelling at up to 180km/h.

The dead boy, believed to be 8, was killed in the four-car smash in Tokoroa early yesterday afternoon. A Holden Commodore, driven by farm worker Pehi Grant Rangi, 24, and with the number plate "Hlspwn", had been reported to police speeding north from Taupo earlier in the day. The car was known to police as it had been stopped and ticketed just days before.

Constable Marian Polyblank, of Tokoroa's strategic traffic unit, said motorists had reported the car being driven at speeds of up to 180km/h and overtaking dangerously. She said traffic units from Tokoroa and Taupo had been dispatched to intercept the car before the accident happened.

The Commodore was driving past the Tokoroa Memorial Sportsground, where scores of children were playing weekend sport, when it crashed into the back of a Ford Laser driven by Rowan Pringle, 30, of Tokoroa.

Also in the vehicle were another man and the young boy, who at edition time had not been named.

The boy was trapped in the car after it was shunted off the road and through a power transformer.

It caught fire, and children from the sportsground opposite the accident site looked on as he died in the backseat of the car.

Eyewitnesses ran to the burning vehicle, some with fire extinguishers, and were able to put out the flames as emergency services arrived.

The Holden Commodore also rear-ended another car, pushing it into a fourth vehicle.

Mr Pringle and his adult passenger were pulled out of the burning vehicle but the boy died.

Mr Pringle is in Waikato Hospital in a stable condition while his passenger is in Waikato Hospital in a critical condition.

Pehi Rangi's mother, Prudence, said last night that she was on her way to her son's bedside at Waikato Hospital, where he was reported to be in a stable condition.

Mr Pringle's grandmother Nora, who also lives in Tokoroa, said her grandson was going to Matamata to play soccer when the accident happened. Mr Pringle has two children. He works at Fonterra Lichfield and plays soccer for Tokoroa Associated Football Club.

Tokoroa mother Tania Airay saw the Commodore heading towards her while she was walking from McDonald's on Main St with daughter Renee, 11, to watch her eldest daughter play at the netball courts.

"He looked like he wasn't going to stop from a long way away. He was going really fast.

"I grabbed her (Renee's) hand and ran, terrified, because I could see it was going to be bad. I just didn't know the outcome, so I was worried that we had to get out of the way."

She said the Ford Laser seemed to fly through the air in slow motion.

"Then a car came towards us - the silver Mercedes - and we ran ... we just ran to the motel and I got them to ring the services."

Rose Steele was just driving out of the sportsground when she heard an "almighty bang", and saw the accident happen.

"It was terrible, absolutely horrible," she said.

Another witness said: "It was hideous. There were too many kids there. The car was on fire. It's amazing none of the kids was hurt."

Police were critical of onlookers who crowded the crash site - so many that Rotorua police had to be called to help control the crowd.

"It's not helpful at all. It makes things difficult. I know people want to have a look ... but why do people want to look at somebody who is bleeding?" said Ms Polyblank.

The crash closed State Highway One for five hours.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY, Additional reporting: Patrick Crewdson