Police arrest man in Hamilton after spiked car crashes through house fence

After police spiked a vehicle near Newcastle Rd in Hamilton, it crashed through the fence of this house in Peachgrove Rd. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer

When Hamilton man Chapman Rangitaawa awoke to the sound of several police sirens, followed by “a big bang” in the early hours of Wednesday morning, his first thought was that he left the TV on.

As he went outside, Chapman found himself watching a live incident: “A good 10″ police cars surrounded a black Audi S8 with no number plates that had crashed through his neighbour’s fence on Peachgrove Rd, opposite Southwell School.

“I just heard all these sirens and it kept getting closer and louder ... Then I could hear all those cops yelling ‘Get out of the car, get out of the car!’ When I came outside to have a look, one police car was already driving away,” he says.

“I didn’t realise how bad the fence was until later that morning, I just saw the car - a nice, black Audi - had crashed into it. What a waste of a car ... It must have been a big shock for the neighbours. Lucky that it stopped where it did and they are all right.”

The Audi S8 that crashed through a fence of a house on Peachgrove Rd in Hamilton, opposite Southwell School. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer

A police spokesperson said officers sighted a “vehicle of interest” on Pinfold Ave in Hamilton East at about 3am on Wednesday.

“It failed to stop for police and fled. It was not pursued. Police sighted the vehicle again near Newcastle Rd, where it was spiked, and it came to a stop on Peachgrove Rd. A 32-year-old man was arrested and faces numerous charges including failing to stop, driving while disqualified and reckless driving.”

On Thursday morning, the abandoned car could still be seen on Peachgrove Rd, near the corner of Bailey Ave.

The vehicle rego tag on the windscreen did not match the make of the car.

The car’s front was severely damaged, with the bonnet dented and bent out of shape. Two airbags were deflated and the front passenger window was open and cracked. A big piece of tyre was lying next to the car.

The damage around the property the car crashed into was mostly cleaned up. There was a gaping hole in the fence and broken fence planks were neatly stacked next to the house, with a large gash in the deck and a dented outdoor unit of a heat pump. Nobody was home when the Waikato Herald visited later.