Waikato hero cop's identity revealed

Te Awamutu police Sergeant Rob Pierce somehow managed to stop a vehicle being driven by a man suffering a seizure yesterday. Photo / Waikato police

The identity of a Waikato cop who pulled a heroic driving manoeuvre to stop a vehicle being driven by a man suffering a seizure has been revealed.

Te Awamutu Sergeant Rob Pierce was heading home along Paterangi Rd when he performed the life-saving move.

Waikato police Senior Sergeant Simon Cherry said as the sergeant drove he came across a slow-moving truck.

He overtook the truck only to be confronted with a vehicle travelling at 60km/h on the 100km/h road.

He then noticed the car veer across the centre line.

He pulled alongside the car again and noticed the driver gazing ahead, still paying no attention to his surroundings.

In a post on the Waikato police Facebook page today, an officer wrote that all three vehicles were now approaching a left-hand bend and were fortunate there had been no cars coming the other way.

"Knowing something needed to be done now Sergeant Pierce overtook the car, positioned the cop car in front and began to slow it down using his car. Fortunately they ended up partially off the road, on the right side of the road.

Morning all, You may have heard of a pretty scary incident that happened in Te Awamutu yesterday. Sergeant Rob...

Posted by Waikato Police on Monday, 9 April 2018

"As Rob put his handbrake on and the patrol car into park, the driver of the vehicle still had his foot on the accelerator, causing its front wheels to spin in the gravel. Rob hurried to the vehicle to turn the car off," the post said.

He then discovered the 62-year-old was having a seizure.

Cherry credited the officer's actions in preventing a serious crash,

"He saved a real chance of a fatality. It was really heroic. Very brave."

Police also praised the actions of the truck driver who helped manage traffic as paramedics raced to the scene.