Police are appealing for information as investigators piece together the movements of a stolen vehicle involved in a head-on collision near Ōtaki last week, killing the driver and injuring six others.
Police signalled an allegedly stolen ute heading south on State Highway 1 to stop after 10.30pm on Friday.
The ute was wanted in connection to an alleged robbery in Ōtaki earlier in the evening.
Police initiated a pursuit, but it was abandoned “within several minutes due to the manner of driving”, Inspector Clifford Brown said at the time.
The vehicle was seen turning back onto SH1 from Waikanae and heading north in the southbound lane around 10.50pm. It collided with another vehicle just south of Lawlors Rd around 11.05pm.
The driver of the ute was pronounced dead at the scene, while two passengers were in serious and critical condition respectively. The person in critical condition is a man and has been taken to Wellington Hospital.
A family of four in the other vehicle were also injured in the crash.
Two young people have been released from hospital, while two adults are recovering in Wellington Hospital.
Anyone who saw a blue Ford Courier ute, registration WS3093, travelling on SH1 between Levin and Paraparaumu between 10pm and 11.05pm on April 26 is urged to contact police, Brown said today.
Anyone with dashcam footage has also been asked to contact police “as soon as possible”.