KEY POINTS:
A Christchurch teenager who allegedly stole a car, refused to stop for police, and ended up crashing into a tree is to appear in the Youth Court there tomorrow to face a raft of charges.
The 16-year-old driver was being pursued by police when the crash occurred at 9.35pm last night at the corner of Gardeners Rd and Styx Mill Rd, on the northern outskirts of the city.
Two teenage girls who were passengers in the car are in a serious condition in Christchurch Hospital.
The driver ran from the scene but was caught a short time later after being tracked by a police dog on to nearby farmland, said Detective Senior Sergeant Grant Wormald, of Christchurch CIB.
The car was pursued by police after it was spotted being driven erratically. It later emerged that the car had been stolen from the nearby suburb of Redwood moments earlier.
The driver failed to stop for police and the pursuit started on Main North Rd, near Styx Mill Bridge, before the car turned into Styx Mill Rd.
It ended soon after when the car drove through a give way sign at the end of Styx Mill Rd, striking a tree and coming to rest in the Styx Mill River.
Neither the driver nor the pursuing police officers were injured in the crash.
Police are investigating the incident, along with the Independent Police Conduct Authority.
Meanwhile, a man is also in Christchurch Hospital with serious injuries after the car he was in ran off the road and hit a bank near Culverden, North Canterbury, about 3.30am.
- NZPA
