One person dead and two injured after police chase in south Auckland

Monday, 9 October 2017

The IPCA says a police pursuit in October 2017 which led to the death of 15-year-old Morocco Tai was 'justified'.

A teenager who died after a south Auckland police chase was earlier a passenger in a stolen car which was recently driven the wrong way on a busy motorway.

Morocco Tai, 15, died on Monday morning after three people were trapped in a stolen car that hit a tree in the suburb of Ōtara.

Inspector Dave Simpson said police tried to stop the stolen car in Bairds Rd just after 6am on Monday.

One of the five teenagers who recently fled police on the wrong side of an Auckland motorway died in a crash on Monday morning.

'It fled from the police and less than a minute later, it collided with a tree.'

A police chase in Ōtara ended in a car crashing into a tree, killing the driver.

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Morocco Tai died after fleeing from police in a stolen car.

The pursuit lasted 52 seconds in total.

Simpson said Morocco was also one of five teens involved in a pursuit on September 22, where a stolen car was driven the wrong way down the southern motorway.

Residents on Bairds Rd, Ōtara said they heard the crash.

'This type of behaviour has to stop … Fleeing driver incidents are incredibly dangerous,' he said.

'These are also devastating for the officers involved. They are being supported with welfare [and] by their colleagues.

The driver of a fleeing car died at the scene after he crashed into a tree in south Auckland.

'We ask the people please to just stop for police, and do not put their own or anyone else's lives at risk.'

The passengers were both 16-year-old girls and it's not known what their relationship was to Morocco.

One was in a serious condition in Middlemore Hospital, the other in a stable condition.

Simpson would not comment on how Morocco came to be behind the wheel so soon after the motorway incident.

'Police did their job when we apprehended him. After that, it's not our issue,' he said.

Morocco was charged with aggravated robbery, endangering transport and aiding a driver in a dangerous matter.

He had been admitted to Middlemore Hospital following the September incident, and wrote on Facebook during that time that he was in 'isolation' and he was thinking of running away.

It was not known when he left the hospital. Counties Manukau District Health Board has been approached for comment.

A police spokeswoman confirmed the charges against Morocco were still pending at the time of his death.

Simpson said dangerous drivers affected the lives of 'so many' people.

'Literally hundreds of members of the public had their lives affected that day when that car was out of control,' he said, regarding the September incident.

'What young people see as joyriding, today's events show there can be tragic outcomes.'

Earlier on Monday, residents and onlookers were on the street, gathered at the edge of the police cordon.

One family who were standing at the end of their driveway watching emergency services said they hadn't witnessed the crash but had heard the emergency services arrive.

The driver's body had been removed from the car just after 9am.

A small crane was also on scene to remove the car, with firefighters using a chainsaw to cut up a downed tree from the crash.

A police car was also being removed from the scene.

Bairds Rd was closed for most of the morning, and was reopened about 10.15am.

The matter will be referred to the Independent Police Conduct Authority and police will also carry out their own investigation.