Man dies after crash following police chase

10.50am - UPDATE


A 24-year-old man was killed when the stolen car he was in drove into Tauranga Harbour following a police chase through the central city early today.

Police named the dead man as Gregory Ross Campbell, a 26-year-old Aucklander.

Senior Sergeant Ross Bielby, of Tauranga police, said a VW Golf carrying three people was spotted driving dangerously in the city about 3.30am.

A police patrol car found the vehicle and it was established it had been stolen from Auckland on Monday.

When police tried to stop the car, it sped off and was chased before officers lost sight of it.

The vehicle headed toward The Strand, a dead-end street, where the driver lost control and careered into Tauranga Harbour.

The vehicle landed upside down on its roof, Mr Bielby said.

When police arrived at the crash scene two officers jumped into the water but were unable to locate the driver because of the darkness and the murky water.

His body was discovered inside the vehicle when it was winched out after police called in a recovery vehicle.

A 20-year-old Tauranga man, whom police found hiding near the crash scene in The Strand, was charged with unlawfully getting into a motor vehicle.

Mr Bielby said another 20-year-old man from Papamoa, who had been in the car shortly before the crash, faced a similar charge. It was believed the dead man was in Tauranga visiting his family.

The death is the eighth death this year as the result of an accident either during or immediately after a police chase.

Yesterday three people died in a smash in Auckland just 12 seconds after police abandoned their chase.

A day earlier Northland coroner Max Atkins released a report criticising police pursuit policy after Erin Jane Burgess, 18, died on May 12, 10km south of Whangarei, after she was hit by motorcylist Kuran William Brunton, 29, who was being chased by police. Brunton also died in the crash.

This morning members of the local police strategic traffic unit were at the Tauranga crash scene beginning their investigations into the crash.

Sergeant Barry Wood, of Greerton police, said it appeared the car was travelling about 60-70km/h when it crashed.

Yesterday Police Commissioner Rob Robinson reinforced the official guidelines on police pursuits.

He said the guidelines had safety as the overriding concern and the safety of the public and police staff took precedence over apprehending a suspected offender.

He said continuation of pursuits had to be justifiable and when an order was given to abandon chase, police in the pursuing car must turn off their lights and siren and stop on the roadside as soon as it was safe.

- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES