KEY POINTS:
Two teenagers have been arrested after a car that had allegedly been stolen went through a red light and crashed while being pursued by police in Hastings today.
The crash is the second in three days involving police pursuits in the Hastings area.
Luke Wooster, 17, died after he crashed his car into a bridge early on Saturday while trying to escape from police. A passenger in his Honda CRX remains in a stable but serious condition in Hawke's Bay Hospital's intensive care unit.
Police said the youths involved in today's crash were in a Nissan Primera that had been reported stolen and had allegedly driven off from a service station without paying for $70 worth of petrol.
The car ended up being pursued by several police cars after being located in central Hastings about 12.55pm and came to a stop after driving through a red light and crashing into another car.
Police said the car was travelling between 15km/h and 20km/h when it crashed.
Two youths, aged 16 and 18, were arrested and will appear in Hastings District Court tomorrow to face numerous driving and theft charges.
Senior Sergeant Stuart Fleming said no one was injured in the crash at the intersection of Tomoana Rd and St Aubyn St.
He said he understood the Nissan had at least one blown tyre when it came to a stop and police had called off the chase.
"They were down to their rims...and were not going very fast," he said.
"I don't know much about what happened...there were several police vehicles involved, but as I understand it the pursuit was called off and shortly after that the offenders had the crash."
Mr Fleming wouldn't be drawn on the general issue of police chases and how they should be handled. "Everyone's an expert," he said.
Meanwhile, Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule said he had discussed with police the crash in which Mr Wooster was killed.
He said police were in a difficult position when it came to chasing law-breakers and efforts to try to get the message to young people about the amount of grief that was caused by speeding was not getting through.
The crash that killed Mr Wooster had happened within 30 seconds of a police officer seeing a car speeding towards him and meant there was little time to even assess whether or not to abandon the chase.
"I don't believe there can be any justification for criticising police from what I have been told," he told Radio New Zealand today.
Mr Yule said fines for young drivers with restricted licences caught breaking the rules didn't seem to be a disincentive and police efforts to try to educate them about the consequences of speeding were not sinking in.
"Police have been proactive about trying to find some answers, but unfortunately what we saw on Friday night shows that some of those messages are going in vain."
- NZPA
