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Two men appeared in court yesterday after allegedly leading police on a chase which spanned seven hours and terrified an officer patrolling alone.
The drama began at 2pm on Wednesday when a car, later found to have been stolen from Wellington, drove off without paying for petrol in Featherston.
Senior Sergeant Warwick Burr told The Dominion Post police could not find the vehicle until two hours later, when a Carterton woman called to say two men were attempting to burgle her home.
When disturbed, they drove off in what turned out to be the same stolen vehicle. Patrols were again sent out and the car was stopped north of Greytown.
As the police officer approached the vehicle, the driver reversed into the police car, ramming it twice.
The chase began again, with the car's driver twice stopping and reversing toward the police car.
Outside Greytown, the vehicle stopped and reversed at the officer. "He reversed back at the same time and in the end was forced to go off the road and on to a property to avoid further contact," Mr Burr said.
The officer discovered the police car radiator was broken and abandoned the chase.
The stolen car was found soon after in Greytown, and cordons were set up. A man was flushed out.
Searches failed to find a second man, until a reported car theft at 8.20pm. The offender fitted the description of the earlier driver. Road spikes were used to stop the vehicle about 9.15pm in Upper Hutt.
A Wellington man, 42, appeared in Masterton District Court yesterday on two charges of unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, and charges of theft and escaping custody. A second Wellington man, 41, was remanded in custody, charged with threatening to kill.
- NZPA
