Driver vanishes before passenger dies

Police are looking for a man who drove his injured passenger to hospital after a minor accident and then left in a taxi. The passenger later died in hospital.

Police said Tevita Mekiti Siliva suffered from a pre-existing spinal injury that would have been aggravated by the collision in Henderson on Sunday.

Mr Siliva, a 63-year-old Ranui widower, was among three passengers in a black Toyota sedan that struck a tan-coloured Subaru station wagon at the intersection of Central Park Drive and Paramount Drive at 1pm.

Constable Karl Bevin, of the police serious crash unit, said the Toyota was then driven to Waitakere Hospital but stopped at the maternity ward.

The group was directed to the emergency department but the driver is believed to have left in a taxi.

Mr Siliva was moved to Auckland City Hospital, where he died that night.

The driver is described as a 31-year-old Pacific Island man with a stocky build and black hair.

Police were keen to hear from taxi companies or drivers who picked up a fare from the maternity building on Sunday afternoon, and any witnesses to the crash.

Mr Bevin said police were still considering whether any charges would be laid. The Subaru's occupants were not injured.