Fatal crash driver didn’t want to be caught, say police

The driver whose failure to stop caused a fatal crash in the wake of a police pursuit in Taupo¯ was ‘‘a motivated offender who did not want to be caught’’, police say.

Speaking outside Rotorua police station yesterday, Bay of Plenty District Commander Superintendent Andy McGregor also revealed the driver of the car, a 28-year-old male, was set to appear in Taupo¯ District Court yesterday to face a charge of dangerous driving causing death.

He said that, at this stage, the relationship between the driver, and his passenger who died in the crash, was unknown.

Police were at the scene of a fatal single-vehicle crash on Broadlands Rd, near Centennial Drive, when the car the dead man was a passenger in fled through the scene, starting the chase.

McGregor said that the 45-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene after the car, which he said was being driven at ‘‘excessive speed’’ on a 50kmh stretch of road, crashed through a fence into a paddock.

Police earlier said they followed the vehicle for less than 30 seconds before it crashed.

McGregor said driver was not the subject of an arrest warrant at the time of the crash, but reiterated he was a ‘‘motivated offender that didn’t want to stop’’.

‘‘If he’d stopped [his passenger would] still be alive.’’

McGregor said the events unfolded after a police photographer, on his way to attend the scene of an earlier unrelated crash, witnessed a vehicle travelling at dangerous speed.