A fleeing driver sped ‘‘directly towards’’ two officers laying down road spikes, forcing them to jump out of the way to avoid being hit, police say.
The driver, who ran red lights and performed a burnout in the Timaru area on Friday, was arrested in Dunedin the next day.
Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond, of Dunedin, said police clocked a vehicle travelling 177kmh on State Highway 1 in Timaru about 11pm on Friday.
Officers signalled for the driver — a 48-year-old man — to stop, but he fled from police and passed through ‘‘a couple of red lights’’ in the Timaru area.
Police abandoned the pursuit because of the dangerous manner of driving, and the man continued heading south out of Timaru via State Highway 1.
Near the intersection of Old Ferry Rd and Dog Kennel Rd, the driver ‘‘suddenly pulled to the left-hand side of the road, accelerated heavily, turning the steering wheel hard to the right at the same time.’’
He completed ‘‘a large burnout’’ across the road, now facing north, and began to accelerate ‘‘heavily’’ again.
Meanwhile, two officers and a patrol car were stationed on the highway deploying road spikes.
The driver crossed from the northbound into the southbound lane to ‘‘drive directly towards’’ the two officers, Snr Sgt Bond alleged.
‘‘They’ve had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit.’’
The vehicle passed within one metre of the patrol car, travelling at between 60 and 80kmh, he said.
After further enquiries, the vehicle was located at an address in Cresswell St, Dunedin, at 3.15am on Saturday.
It was blocked in and the man was arrested.
Police went conducted the drink-driving procedure and the man refused to provide a blood sample.
He appeared in the Dunedin District Court on Saturday charged with failing to stop, dangerous driving, sustained loss of traction, refusing a request for a blood sample and two charges of assault with a weapon — one for each officer.
He was remanded in custody and will appear in the Timaru District Court on March 18, Snr Sgt Bond said.
