Stolen car crashes into oncoming traffic on Auckland highway following police pursuit

A stolen vehicle crashed into oncoming traffic after driving on the wrong side of Mt Wellington Highway in Auckland this morning. Image / Google Maps

The driver of a stolen vehicle evaded police this morning before driving on the wrong side of an Auckland highway and crashing into an oncoming car.

Just after midnight police attempted to stop a stolen vehicle on Mt Wellington Highway, Senior Sergeant Darryl Simeti said.

The driver fail to stop, and police started a pursuit.

It was abandoned shortly after when police lost sight of the vehicle, Simeti said.

About five minutes later police spotted the vehicle and resumed the pursuit, before abandoning it again due to the "manner of driving by the stolen vehicle".

Police then spotted the vehicle on CCTV cameras, as it drove on the wrong side of Mt Wellington Highway, and crashed into an oncoming car with two members of the public in it.

"Thankfully no one was injured," Simeti.

The male driver, 28, has been charged with a range of offences, including failing to stop for police, reckless driving, driving while disqualified, and unlawfully taking a motor vehicle.

The male passenger, 28, was charged with unlawfully getting into a motor vehicle.

They were both expected to appear in the Auckland District court today.

This morning's pursuit follows a police chase yesterday morning that almost resulted in a collision on State Highway 3 near Marton.

Dashcam footage showed a car pulling out in front of two oncoming cars with the two front tyres blown after police attempted to stop it with road spikes.

A spokeswoman said police arrested the driver, a man in his 30s, after the car came to a stop, before he was charged with a "range of driving offences".

Police have been in the firing line this year after a spate of police chases has resulted in eight deaths on the roads, three of them teenagers.