Subscribe to RSSPolice Upset At Fatal Chase
Christchurch police say they’re devastated by a crash in Christchurch tonight in which 2 elderly people died when a speeding car driven by a disqualified driver crashed into it.
Police gave this account on what happened.
They say they detected a speeding motorist travelling at 89kph along Ferry Road, Christchurch.
Police turned and chased the vehicle following it into Fitzgerald Avenue.
The offending vehicle pulled up and stopped at a red light at the intersection of St Asaph Street and Fitzgerald.
When the traffic light went green the offending vehicle started to pull over to the left hand side of the road. As it did this it then accelerated away along Fitzgerald Avenue.
The vehicle went through Tuam, Lichfield, Cashel and Hereford Streets which were all green.
The lights at the next intersection were red, Worchester St. The offending vehicle slowed down and when the lights went green it accelerated away again.
The next lights at Gloucester were also red however the offending driver drove straight through the lights and collided with the victim’s vehicle.
Police Area Commander Inspector Malcolm Johnston says “Police were duty bound to stop this driver. Travelling at nearly 90kph along Ferry Road is a recipe for disaster. He could have killed anyone at any stage”.
As a result of the crash a 73 year old male and a female passenger in the car hit by the chased vehicle have died.
“Blame for this tragedy lies entirely with this driver. He was signalled to stop and he should have stopped. He is a disqualified driver and well known to Christchurch Police.”
“I have spoken with the officers involved and they are devastated.”
1 Comments
I could not agree more with the police.
In fact this criminal should be facing murder charges after recklessly causing the death of two innocent persons.
Every time some loser chooses not to stop for police then everything that happens from that moment forth is their fault. They know they must stop end of story.
The alternative, that is stopping only if you feel like doing so is not an option even worth considering. Otherwise every criminal, every drunken or drugged driver, every unlicensed idiot, every road rule flouting moron will never stop. Unfortuately licence plates all too often don’t match cars or the driver simply becomes untraceable or the crime unprovable later on if the driver is found.
However the current police policy of telling criminals that police will pull out if the criminal drives a bit too crazy is exacerbating the problem.
This says to these sub humans that they may as well have a go because the police know they will be having to justify every mindless criticism of them if they pursue them too long and it all ends badly. Political correctness stifles police pure and simple.
That and the pathetic penalty for failing to stop only carries a fine. The last Labour led government sat impotently whilst this situation worsened and I can only hope the current one does something about it such as mandatory prison sentences.
I completely support the police on this subject as its what they should be doing but I would like to see them left to deal with this problem without fear of complaint. The alternatives are simply too horrible to contemplate.