Spectators melt away after boy racer crash

One of the three cars believed to have been involved in a street-racing accident in East Tamaki early yesterday. Picture / Greg Bowker

Up to 200 young people saw a street-racing accident early yesterday but only a handful waited for emergency services to arrive.

Acting Sergeant Gareth Hartley said the dozen or so who did stick around were either drivers of the three cars involved or friends of the seven spectators who were injured by an out-of-control Honda Civic.

"People are prepared to go there and watch or participate but if something happens they aren't prepared to stay and talk to police."

The accident happened just before 2am along Harris Rd in East Tamaki, an area often frequented by hundreds of boy-racers.

It follows the death of West Auckland woman Karen Jolly after she was hit by a speeding car last Saturday. Witnesses say the driver was racing another car at the time.

The week before that Auckland mother Nicole Mace was killed while crossing Ponsonby Rd. Witnesses to that crash say the young driver who hit her was also racing.

Police are still trying to establish exactly what happened in yesterday's crash, but it is believed the Civic lost control while racing along a straight section of Harris Rd.

The car reportedly spun round several times before crashing into two others parked on the side of the road.

Seven spectators standing nearby were hit, either by the car or flying debris. Three suffered serious injuries.

One of those injured was a young man who is believed to have been leaning against his girlfriend's parked Holden when it was hit. He was knocked out and needed at least 15 stitches.

Otara Station Officer John Searle said firefighters found the Civic in the middle of the road. One person lay injured in a garden, another in a driveway.

Mr Searle said the people at the crash site appeared to be mainly aged between 18 and 23.

A St John spokesman said four people were taken to Middlemore Hospital, one with serious injuries, one with moderate and the other two with minor injuries.

A businessman who works in the building near the crash site said street racing was an ongoing problem, bringing with it graffiti, property damage and litter.

Yesterday empty beer bottles, food wrappers, broken glass and a lone shoe littered the side of the road where the accident happened.

Mr Hartley said a dedicated team of six officers had been established to target street-racing.

Police were seeking witnesses to yesterday's accident.