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A motorcyclist has been killed in a crash after fleeing police and colliding with a car in central Christchurch.
The crash at the intersection of Barbadoes St and Edgeware Rd happened about 11.40pm yesterday, Canterbury metro area commander Superintendent Lane Todd said.
Minutes before the crash involving a silver car, police signalled to the motorcyclist to pull over but they fled.
Todd said police did not pursue and the motorcyclist ended up colliding with a silver sedan, which hit a traffic pole.
The female driver of the silver car had minor to moderate injuries.
The motorcyclist received immediate medical assistance but died at the scene, Todd said.
"Our thoughts are with the deceased man’s family.
"Police will be referring the incident to the IPCA (Independent Police Conduct Authority), and our serious crash and critical incident investigations are in their early stages."
Anyone who saw the crash and had not yet spoken to police was asked to get in contact.
It comes after a number of fatal crashes in Canterbury over recent weeks, including one in north Christchurch which left a teenaged driver dead and two passengers on life support.
Another crash in Hororata killed two children of a family headed for Mt Hutt. Days later a legal executive was travelling through West Melton when she was killed by a teen driver.
Canterbury rural area police commander Pete Cooper said the region’s road toll this year was “horrendous.
“Crashes like this one are all preventable. It’s an annual message, but drivers need to take the act of driving seriously.”