Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Man drives 120km/h past two Rotorua schools to 'scare' partner

Kelly Makiha
By Kelly Makiha
Multimedia Journalist·Rotorua Daily Post·
28 May, 2019 05:08 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Te Ariki Wiringi appearing in the Rotorua District Court via audio-visual link. Photo / Kelly Makiha

Te Ariki Wiringi appearing in the Rotorua District Court via audio-visual link. Photo / Kelly Makiha

With his pregnant partner and two other young children in the car, Te Ariki Wiringi drove at 120km/h past two Rotorua schools.

He was enraged after having an argument with his partner about her past relationships and later told police he wanted to "scare" her.

His partner begged the 22-year-old to slow down, fearing for the children at Selwyn Primary School and Western Heights High School as he sped dangerously on Old Quarry Rd, an area with a speed limit of 50km/h.

But he didn't stop, saying he didn't care if he crashed and killed them all, details in police documents reveal.

Wiringi is now behind bars as his former partner is about to give birth to their new child after he pleaded guilty in the Rotorua District Court to three charges.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

They included threatening to kill by deliberately crashing a vehicle, dangerous driving and contravening a protection order.

A police summary of facts released to the Rotorua Daily Post said Wiringi and the woman had one child together, aged 3, and a step child, aged 1.

Both children were in the car on February 27 when Wiringi drove a Subaru vehicle and lost his temper.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

After becoming enraged, Wiringi drove past the two schools at 120km/h, refusing to stop, the summary said. It was 11am and children at both schools were in session at the time.

As Wiringi neared the end of Old Quarry Rd, he slowed but continued to drive along Gordon Rd. He then turned into Fairview Rd and accelerated to 80km/h.

The woman was begging him to stop but instead he drove up onto the footpath and hit a bus stop sign, causing it to hit the window screen of the vehicle and making it difficult to see.

The woman tried to call police but he grabbed her phone and threw it out the vehicle, the summary of facts said.

Discover more

New Zealand

'Hate speech' row erupts after Rotorua councillor compared to the Pied Piper

27 May 06:32 AM
New Zealand

Long-serving Rotorua priest Father Timmerman dies

27 May 03:20 AM

Influenza influx: Little relief in sight for Rotorua Hospital

27 May 07:31 AM

All you need to know about the teachers' strike

27 May 07:00 PM

Still driving at speed, he failed to stop at a road works stop sign. At this time, the woman hung out the window of the car and yelled at the road workers to call police.

Wiringi then drove to a property on Cherrywood Pl and told the woman to leave in the vehicle.

When interviewed by police, he admitted driving the car and said he wanted to "scare" the woman.

Wiringi has two previous family harm-related convictions involving the same woman, the summary said.

He has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on July 30.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Sport

Rugby showdown: Local teams gear up for Baywide semis

09 Jul 06:00 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Rain train: Weather watches keep rolling in for Bay of Plenty

09 Jul 01:32 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

'Ecstatic' reunion: Cat found after year-long disappearance

09 Jul 12:00 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rugby showdown: Local teams gear up for Baywide semis

Rugby showdown: Local teams gear up for Baywide semis

09 Jul 06:00 AM

Whakarewarewa dominated Te Puna with a 57-10 win in Rotorua.

Rain train: Weather watches keep rolling in for Bay of Plenty

Rain train: Weather watches keep rolling in for Bay of Plenty

09 Jul 01:32 AM
'Ecstatic' reunion: Cat found after year-long disappearance

'Ecstatic' reunion: Cat found after year-long disappearance

09 Jul 12:00 AM
'Horrible': Memorial for deaf, blind man killed in alleged hit-and-run is destroyed

'Horrible': Memorial for deaf, blind man killed in alleged hit-and-run is destroyed

08 Jul 10:50 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP