Police hunt runaway death-race youth

The driver of a car that smashed into a house left behind dead and dying friends to escape with those he was racing against just seconds before.

The youth was the focus of a police hunt last night after the smash left one teenage girl dead and two others - aged 16 and 17 - seriously injured.

Witnesses said the driver and another youth left the Nissan Pulsar after it ploughed into a home in Auckland's Onehunga about 10pm on Friday. Another car returned to the scene to pick up the two youths.

The car smashed through a metal fence before it hit the house where two children and their parents were sleeping.

The incident came in the week schoolgirl driver Josephine Clay was sentenced for a crash that killed one of her best friends and seriously injured another - prompting her to warn youngsters to be careful behind the wheel.

It was one of a string of smashes across New Zealand overnight Friday and yesterday that stretched emergency services.

A neighbour who raced outside to help seconds after the crash said the driver was a coward for deserting his friends. "It was pretty disgusting what he did but it was a wonder he even managed to escape. The wrong person died, that's for sure.

"There was one girl screaming ... her leg was just hanging there and her mate was dead, lying on top of her. I went in and tried to move her off."

He said one of the girls was semi-conscious, confused and upset. The man said a motorist saw the cars racing shortly before the crash. Airbags protected the driver and the other front-seat passenger.

Resident John Warwick said he ran to help after hearing the "phenomenally loud boom" of the car hitting the house.

"When I went outside I heard the wailing and could smell the petrol - it was horrible."

He said the two males in the front of the car had run from the scene and he tried to help the three teenage girls in the back.

"One girl died on impact. I tried to check her pulse but couldn't find anything so called over someone else to check just in case."

He said another girl was trapped in the car and making a lot of noise. "Her legs were pinned, I don't think she will walk again."

Warwick said he was told the driver and front-seat passenger ran off and left in a white station wagon.

The car that crashed had been stolen earlier that night from Mt Roskill's Shafraz Nasser while he was visiting his grandparents.

"Last night it was an inconvenience but now I realise it's nothing, not compared with someone's life," he said.

Police inspector Kerry Watson said at least one person had escaped the wreck and been picked up by a second car. He said police believed the second car had also been stolen.

Meanwhile, an investigation will be launched into Auckland's Sunshine Taxis after one of its cabs crashed into two parked cars early yesterday.

The incident occurred about 6.45am on Great North Rd near Waterview.

The driver and another person not in the taxi were taken to hospital with minor to moderate injuries.

Sunshine Taxis director Ranjit Singh said the driver was still in hospital last night. He refused to comment further.

New Zealand Transport Agency spokesman Ewart Barnsley said an inquiry would begin after it received the police report.

A second investigation was expected to be launched after an Intercity Coachlines bus slid down a bank into a ditch near Mangaweka, south of Taihape. One passenger suffered a broken arm.

In other incidents, a 23-year-old woman is in hospital after a fatal crash in Hamilton on Friday night.

A man died and two women were injured in the head-on crash in Rotokauri Rd in suburban Nawton about 5pm.

And a serious car accident in South Auckland yesterday was at an intersection locals said was notorious for crashes.

Four people were taken to hospital after three cars collided at the intersection of Glenbrook and Kingseat Rds just after noon.

- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: ANNA RUSHWORTH AND AMELIA WADE