Waikato to Auckland: Pair arrested after failing to stop

Police arrested two men on the South-Western motorway, following a fleeing driver incident that began near Matamama this morning.

A stolen vehicle had earlier been seen in the Mt Maunganui area and failed to stop for a Police unit.

Police did not pursue the vehicle at the time, however at around 3.44am the same vehicle was sighted on State Highway 27 near Matamata.

The vehicle was signalled to stop, but fled and was not pursued.

Spikes were successfully deployed as the vehicle travelled north towards the Auckland region.

Eagle deployed to the southern part of Auckland and began monitoring the vehicle from the Bombay Hills as it entered the motorway network.

The vehicle continued to travel north on State Highway 1, before moving onto State Highway 20.

Eventually, just before 5.30am, it came to a stop on the motorway near the Puhinui Road offramp.

The 29-year-old man driving, and a 17-year-old male passenger were both taken into custody without further incident.

As the incident concluded on the motorway, there was some disruption to morning commuters’ travel as the scene was cleared.

Police would like to thank members of the public for their patience and cooperation this morning as we responded to this incident.

Charges are being considered in this matter.

/NZ Police Public Release. View in full here.