Auckland car chase: Arrest after 'reckless' driver zooms along footpath, crashes after fleeing police

Auckland car chase: Arrest after 'reckless' driver zooms along footpath, crashes after fleeing police
Photo credit: Google Maps / File

An Aucklander is in custody after leading police on a 40km lockdown car chase that culminated in their vehicle being spiked and careening off the road.

Police told Newshub they received reports of a vehicle driving erratically in Panmure, central Auckland at about 10:40am on Wednesday morning.

The person who reported it said they had seen the car driving along the footpath.

Police soon located the car on the Northern Motorway in the nearby suburb of Ellerslie, but the driver allegedly failed to stop and "continued to drive in a reckless manner".

Police pursued the vehicle for more than 30km along State Highway 16 to the north-west suburb of Kumeū, where they managed to spike the vehicle.

But the driver still persisted in fleeing from police and led them on several kilometres further until, at about 11:20am, the car went off the road and crashed near the rural township of Waimauku.

The driver has now been taken into custody. Police say they did not sustain any significant injuries.

Enquiries into the incident are ongoing.