Motorcyclist dies in city police chase
A woman has described seeing a police motorbike chasing another motorcyclist through a South Auckland suburb moments before a fatal crash last night.
“We were at Caltex on Massey Rd getting petrol, and we saw a cop on the bike chasing a fella on the bike,” the woman said in Mangere.
“I saw the lights. They were speeding past and by the time we had filled up and got to Buckland Rd lights, they were putting a cordon in place.”
Police have confirmed the motorcyclist was killed after crashing on Buckland Rd, near the intersection of Royton Ave, after failing to stop.
The woman, who did not want to be named, said she saw tyre marks swerving back and forth on Massey Rd heading towards Buckland Rd.
“There were tyre zig zags all over the road, single tyre marks . . . as if he was weaving in and out of traffic.”
The road would have been reasonably busy at the time, she said.
When she got to the intersection of Massey Rd and Buckland Rd it was blocked by several police cars. A policeman near the crash told her the road was a crime scene and a man was dead or dying.
Police said they had tried to pull over a motorcyclist who was speeding on Buckland Rd about 7.20pm.
“The driver failed to stop and police initiated a pursuit. Almost immediately after this the motorcyclist has crashed near the intersection with Royton Ave,” a statement said.
“Unfortunately the man has died at the scene.” Nobody else was injured. A police spokeswoman confirmed a police motorbike had been involved in the chase.
Despite the woman seeing police following the motorcyclist along Massey Rd with sirens on, a police spokeswoman told the Herald police stood by their original statement that the person had been speeding on Buckland Rd when the pursuit began.
Buckland Rd was last night closed between Massey Rd and Ashley Ave.
A local resident said she could see what appeared to be a body covered in a white cloth on the road.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has been notified.