A Dunedin police officer is in hospital with a broken foot after the patrol car in which he was a passenger crashed while pursuing a vehicle through the suburb of Concord early yesterday.
A 20-year-old Dunedin man has been arrested and charged with reckless driving and failing to stop for police.
It is understood the police vehicle was extensively damaged when it collided with a bank at the intersection of Emerson St and Blackhead Rd.
The driver of the patrol car was not injured, and the car being pursued was not involved in the crash.
The injured constable, aged in his 30s, was in a comfortable condition in Dunedin Hospital last night.
The Toyota was first stopped on the Southern Motorway near Fairfield about 1.25am, after police recorded it travelling at 166kmh.
"The vehicle initially stopped. However, when approached by police, it fled the scene," Senior Sergeant Craig Brown said.
The ensuing pursuit reached speeds of 180kmh, and it was called off when the vehicle entered the 50kmh zone on Kaikorai Valley Rd.
A short time later, the vehicle was located on Stevenson Rd, where the pursuit started again. It finished when the police car crashed shortly afterwards.
The 20-year-old driver was located an hour after the crash and will appear in the Dunedin District Court later this week.
An investigation was being conducted to establish the cause of the police patrol crash, Snr Sgt Brown said.
