A 15-year-old car driver escaped injury but left a train driver with a spinal injury after fleeing from police and being hit by a train at a Christchurch railway crossing.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA), in a report on the October 2023 incident that was released on Thursday, identified significant safety failures in the tactical choices and speeds of the officers involved.
Canterbury District Commander Superintendent Tony Hill said police acknowledged the IPCA’s findings and noted that staff have since undergone additional training regarding driving above the speed limit.
An officer initially spotted two stolen cars travelling in a convoy at 3.55am in the Upper Riccarton area. Both drivers turned off their headlights and accelerated away at high speed upon seeing the police vehicle.
The IPCA found that the initial officer accelerated to follow the cars without activating emergency lights or sirens before stopping the follow when the cars mounted a pavement. The authority ruled the tactical approach of following at speed “covertly” was unsafe and unjustified because the drivers were already actively evading.
