Police chase on Northern Motorway: Driver arrested after going the wrong way

A man has been arrested in Auckland following a dramatic pursuit along the Northern Motorway.

Motorists driving northbound along the motorway were shocked to see the fleeing driver speed past them - on the wrong side of the road.

Heading south in northbound lanes, the fleeing driver was on the grassy area to the left of the road when a shocked motorist saw him near Oteha Valley Rd.

"He was using the side of the road of the motorway so he didn't hit the cars ... using that scrubbed up part that you might desperately pull into if you had a flat tyre," she said.

"The bonnet had been smashed in the front so it was half crunched up. The bonnet was half sitting up so it would have been obscuring [the] window.

"It was just such a shock to see this car flying down the side."

The car on the motorway. Photo / via video

However, after spikes were deployed by police officers on Dairy Flat Highway, the vehicle came to a stop and one man was arrested.

"Around 10.20am, a vehicle sought by police in relation to numerous dangerous driving complaints was signalled to stop," a spokesperson said.

"Due to the manner of driving, police eventually abandoned the fleeing driver.

"The vehicle has twice been involved in minor collisions, firstly with a motorway barrier and the second with another vehicle."

However, there had not been any reports of anyone being seriously injured.

The man was the sole occupant of the fleeing vehicle and inquiries into the incident are ongoing, the police spokesperson said.

A short time after the motorist saw the fleeing driver speed past her near Oteha Valley Rd, signs above the motorway were branded with the words, "extreme danger, wrong-way driver".

Another motorist said police had spiked the driver's car at Redvale and he hit the centre barrier.

"Very scary. Thought someone was going to be killed with his crazy driving, swerving through the lanes."

Bit of drama on the motorway!

Police chase, and a car racing the wrong way.

Hope it ends safely @NZTAAkl

— Brad Kul (@Brad_Kul) February 18, 2020

Footage captured by the motorist, who was driving at around 80km/h, showed the wrong-way driver speeding past them.

Driving southbound in the correct lanes, the motorist said he had slowed down because he was expecting a "big crash".

Elsewhere, another witness tweeted: "Bit of drama on the motorway! Police chase, and a car racing the wrong way. Hope it ends safely."

The New Zealand Transport Agency responded with: "We understand that issue is now resolved and can confirm that all sections of our motorway system through Auckland remain open this morning."