?Ensuring her staff get the appropriate level of support following a traumatic incident is one priority for a senior Waikato Police officer after a fleeing driver collided with a truck on a rural highway overnight.
District Road Policing Manager, Inspector Freda Grace, said Police are still working to confirm the identity of a man seriously injured in the collision.
¡°The crash is currently the subject of a number of investigations, including one by the Serious Crash Unit and the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) has been advised, so it¡¯s too early to confirm what has occurred.
¡°Initial indications however, are that a Toyota vehicle was seen speeding on SH3 from Te Kuiti towards Otorohanga when it was seen by a Police patrol. The officer has attempted to stop the vehicle but the driver has fled north at high speed and a pursuit was initiated.¡±
Mrs Grace said a short time later the fleeing driver¡¯s vehicle was seen to collide with the driver¡¯s side of a southbound truck and trailer unit about 11.40pm.
¡°The driver was freed from the wreckage by fire-fighters and flown to Waikato Hospital in a serious condition, meanwhile emergency services were left cleaning.
¡°This incident is the second serious crash involving fleeing drivers in a week and as an organisation, we are ensuring we are getting the appropriate support to our staff who are having to deal with what are completely avoidable circumstances.¡±
Mrs Grace said when such incidents occur often the focus is on the offending driver but little consideration is given to those who have to pick up the pieces.
¡°Each day our staff come to work focused on preventing road trauma. When, despite their best efforts, traumatic incidents still occur we then require them to pick up the pieces.?
¡°Often the human cost of picking up those pieces is overlooked, offending drivers need to take stock that it¡¯s not just themselves they put at risk. It¡¯s other motorists, it¡¯s their families and it¡¯s our emergency service workers.¡±?
SH3 was re-opened to traffic early this morning.
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