Police shocked at photo of child riding on roof of car on West Coast

The photo shows a child travelling on top of a vehicle owned by a Dunedin resident.

The details of an "appalling" incident of a child riding on the roof of a Dunedin vehicle on a West Coast road will be sent to Dunedin police today for further investigation, Hokitika police say.

Sergeant Andrew Lyes said yesterday that he was given a photo of the young child sitting out of the sunroof of a vehicle travelling near Hokitika last week.

The photo was taken by someone following the vehicle on the exit road to Lake Mahinapua and would be included in a file sent to Dunedin police today for further investigation.

The file would include the registration details of the vehicle, which was owned by a resident of Dunedin.

Mr Lyes said the vehicle owner had not been contacted by police. The identities of the child and the driver were unknown.

The photographer was "appalled" by the incident, he said. "As were we."

Mr Lyes said Dunedin police officers would need to investigate further before it was known if any charges would follow.

"At the very least, the driver could be fined for allowing a person to ride in a dangerous position.

"But depending on the outcome of the investigation more serious charges could be laid."

Senior Sergeant Phil McDouall, manager of the Dunedin road policing unit, said he had no knowledge of the incident so could not comment, but he would investigate when the file arrived.

- Otago Daily Times, Greymouth Star