Police cleared over car chase with fatal ending

Police were justified in chasing a car that crashed, killing a passenger, at Porirua in May 2016, the Independent Police Conduct Authority has found.

The 69-second chase was generally conducted in line with policy, although at one point the police officer had turned off his siren and forgotten to turn it on again, authority chairman Sir David Carruthers said.

Damian Andrew Lawson’s parked Lexus car attracted police attention on May 21, 2016, a Saturday night, about 8.30pm.

A check revealed several potential problems with the car. When police followed it, Lawson would not stop. He drove at speed and on the wrong side of the road, including going the wrong way around a major roundabout.

He kept driving but lost control, and crashed through a fence and into a tree.

The only other person in the car, a young woman who had just turned 21, was killed. Her name was suppressed in court.

Lawson pleaded guilty to reckless driving causing her death. On May 19, two days short of the crash anniversary, he was sentenced to five years in jail.

There had been a warrant out for Lawson’s arrest for failing to appear in court, including on two charges of driving while suspended. The car he was driving had an expired warrant of fitness and registration. Stolen licence plates were found in the boot of the vehicle.

Lawson’s blood contained methamphetamine, cannabis, and drugs for pain relief and a local anaesthetic.

Acting Wellington police district commander Superintendent Steve Kehoe said the death of the young woman was a tragedy and entirely avoidable.