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A Hawke's Bay teenager killed after a police pursuit was travelling at speeds of up to 180km/h - and was on a learner licence, says his family.
A Police Complaints Authority investigation has been launched into the smash that killed driver Luke Wooster, 17, of Flaxmere, early yesterday - the latest in a series of serious crashes involving police pursuits and young drivers.
Last night, it was revealed Luke Wooster held a learner licence, meaning he shouldn't have been on the road at 1.30am and shouldn't have been carrying any passengers other than an experienced, supervising driver.
One witness, Marty Cowan, said Wooster saw the police flashing lights and "freaked out", but police last night said they were comfortable with the actions of their officer and that he never came within 500m of the pursued vehicle, a powerful Honda CRX.
Cowan estimated Wooster's car was travelling 180km/h in the 70km/h zone at the time of the crash.
He said Wooster died in his arms. "I just jumped out of the car, ran straight up to them, took my jersey off, wrapped my jersey around his head where blood was just pouring out," Cowan told 3 News.
"I was just talking to him, he was nodding... [I asked] 'Are you still there?' but his face wasn't there, and he passed away."
Cowan told the Herald on Sunday that just five seconds before the crash, Wooster overtook the car he was in. "The police were chasing them but they weren't very close, they couldn't catch up, they were ages away."
A youth who was a passenger in Wooster's car is believed to have been flung from the vehicle, and was last night in a stable condition in Hawke's Bay Hospital's intensive care unit.
Last night, Luke Wooster's father Wayne said he had been talking to his son "just the other day" about what to do if he saw blue and red lights behind his car. "We talked about this very thing, what to do when you have them behind you, but these kids are scared about the fines," said Wayne Wooster, who last night spoke to the Herald on Sunday, saying he wanted to help prevent the life of another boy racer being taken because they are "too scared" to pull over when police are in pursuit.
Wayne Wooster said he was "a little angry" with police for chasing his son, "because if he had stopped, all they would have been able to do was get him for a $400 fine".
Hastings police area commander Inspector Dean Clifford said a police patrol was in the Bridge Pa area after reports of boy racers, including a crash where people had left the scene and were picked up by another car.
Clifford said the patrol car driver then spotted two cars driving towards him at speed. He activated his lights, but neither car stopped. The officer did a U-turn and began following one of the cars.
He said the chase lasted less than two minutes and covered approximately 2km. Police came no closer than 500m to the pursued car.
"Approaching the settlement of Bridge Pa, the pursued vehicle passed another car and appears to have lost control and crashed into a bridge abutment," Clifford said.
Wayne Wooster said friends of his young son did not agree with police claims that the vehicle Luke was driving had been chased for only a short time. He said the number of deaths following police chases was down to the age of police recruits. "The police these days are too young for the driving they are doing - they are the same age as the guys they're chasing. But there is no point in me getting angry because it doesn't matter what I do or say, he ain't coming back."
He said when no serious crime had been committed and a vehicle wouldn't stop, officers should take note of registration plates - "they will end up catching up with them, and they will all live to tell the tale".
The death comes after a spate of serious crashes involving pursuits and raises questions over whether national policies need to change. Police guidelines say public and police safety should take precedence over the need to apprehend alleged offenders.
Police officers are responsible for deciding whether to pursue a vehicle, and pursuits can be abandoned by either an officer or a controller at the communications centre if they become unsafe.
Over the next few days, the communications log of the incident would be checked and the police officer involved would be interviewed, Clifford said. He said his staff were "aware of the risks of pursuits".
Now was the time for family to come together, said Wayne Wooster. "I am sad and shocked, everyone has been crying a lot today".
