Officer records shocking near-miss
Police are calling for people with information to come forward after a speeding car was caught in a horrifying nearmiss near Nelson.
The video, posted by Nelson police on their Facebook page, shows an accelerating BMW almost crash into an oncoming vehicle while driving on the Moutere Highway on Sunday.
As the dark-coloured BMW follows a bend in the road, it cuts the corner in the wrong lane, almost colliding with the oncoming car.
Senior Constable Matt Harris said the driver’s actions nearly caused a high-speed crash that would have ‘‘almost certainly’’ ended in a death.
Harris was the officer who recorded the incident. Although an attempt was made to catch up to the BMW to apprehend the driver, police decided it was not safe to continue, due to the speed the car was travelling at.
The car was last seen travelling towards Upper Moutere and turning on to George Harvey Rd.
Harris said the driver of the vehicle in the oncoming lane had not come forward yet. Locating them was a major part of the investigation.
So far, police had received quite a large response from the community regarding the video, he said, some of which was ‘‘fairly spirited’’.
Harris said police urged people to think carefully about their driving, especially in the leadup to the Christmas holiday period.
Drivers could expect to see more checkpoints in the region, he said.
Anyone with footage or information that would assist in identifying the car or driver should contact police on 105 or via their website, and quote file number 221128/2131.