High-speed chase

Press, 4 March 1981, Page 6

High-speed chase

PA Taurangai A youth drove off in a, police car while his compan-; ions were being questioned; at Te Puke, stopped at a meat works while wearing a; p'’iceman’s hat, and led pat-! rol cars in a high-speed; chase that ended only/when! the engine of the hijacked' car seized, the police said! yesterday. | Speeds of 140km/h were: reached during the pursuit! by traffic officers to Waio-j tapu. north of Rotorua, early) yesterday A youth was ar-1 rested after a brief struggle. ; The police in Tauranga; said the incident began near' Te Puke just Def ore midnight when ' a Te Puke policeman. Constable R. F. Burgess, stopped a carload of youths. He questioned them about the theft of • liquor from the Te . Puke Hotel earlier in the evening. One. of the youths was put! in the police car. bitt he! drove away in it, pursued by! a • traffic ,« Ticer. The police; ■in Tauranga . sent three pat/ rol cars to intercept the car. •_. . At one. stage the car was!

(driven inta the yards of the, (Auckland Farmers’ Freezing 1 .(Co-operative’s works at Ra-. • ngiuru. The occupant, then • wearing a policeman’s, cap,' (was: questioned by. a gate-' • man and drove out again. • The police in Rotorua set (up a road block but when; [the car failed to stop they' •chased the vehicle. The [driver of the vehicle used ' the police radio. ' several (times but ignored radioed ! warnings to stop.

r I During the'pursuit, several; 'of the Rotorua police carsif • suffered minor panel damage) . in collisions and one. a near-'* new Falcon, had. its wind-’* 'screen broken by gravel ; r thrown up by another car. ; 1 The chase ended when the [ stolen car, which also suf-: 1 fered panel damage, stopped/ with a seized engine. / A youth will appear in the/ District Court at Taurangai in connection with the in-1 cident. :t 11 1 ." ii