Crimeline: Alleged speeding dad nabbed
Alleged speeding dad nabbed
With heavy snow, wet roads and warnings of more overnight freezing causing black ice, Police and are urging school holiday drivers to take extreme caution and obey the rules.
Otago Lakes Area Road Policing Manager Acting Senior Sergeant Dylan Hannah-Jones says it was greatly concerning to have a dad with his family in the car stopped near the Lindis Pass earlier this week for allegedly overtaking multiple vehicles at 150km/hr. “It was a mum, dad and kids in the car,” Hannah-Jones says. “If one single thing had changed or gone wrong in that situation, such as another car pulling out to overtake, a mechanical problem or something else, we could’ve been looking at multiple fatalities,” he says. “In this case the driver got a hefty fine, a 28-day loss of licence and the embarrassment of losing his licence in front of his children.”
There were also calls to the Crown Range after some drivers “decided to simply stop in the middle of the road to put their chains on”, he says. Hannah-Jones says he saw other drivers put chains on the wrong wheels.
He’s urging school holiday drivers to put chains on properly on the correct wheels, listen to roading crews there to keep them safe, be patient, courteous, stick to their side of the road, don’t speed, wear their seatbelts and “leave your phone in the boot”.
Spate of car thefts
Three young people are being dealt with by Police Youth Aid after a spate of stolen vehicles around the Queenstown area last weekend (4 – 6 July).
Area Response Manager Senior Sergeant Glenn Wilkinson confirmed three vehicles were stolen, with just two recovered so far.
A Toyota Spade taken from a driveway in Howden Drive, Hanley’s Farm, on Saturday night (4 July) still hasn’t been found, and Wilkinson says it’s unclear yet whether all three vehicle thefts are linked.
The other two cars were stolen overnight Sunday (5-6 July) - one from Hallenstein Street, which was recovered on McBride Street, the second then taken from McBride Street.
Wilkinson says about 6pm on Monday a Police patrol saw the car stolen from McBride Street being driven towards Queenstown on the Glenorchy-Queenstown Road. “Police attempted to stop the vehicle, but it sped up and didn’t stop,” he says.
They didn’t pursue the car due to the dangerous manner of driving, but located it abandoned a short time later.
Subsequently three young people were located nearby and are being dealt with by Police Youth Aid in relation to their alleged involvement in the stolen vehicles. One youth is also being dealt with over the alleged driving offences and failing to stop for Police.
Late night assault
Two 30-year-old local men have been charged after allegedly assaulting another man, one of them allegedly punching and kicking him in the face causing facial injuries that required hospital treatment at 3am on Friday, 3 July, Constable Amanda Shute says. An initial verbal altercation between the two offenders and the victim in Shotover Street had escalated with one of the men allegedly striking the victim with his crutches.
Shute says one of the two 30-year-olds faces two charges of injuring with intent to injure/ reckless disregard, the other also charged with injuring with intent to injure/ reckless disregard.
Diver dies at Kingston
Police are investigating on behalf of the Coroner after an Invercargill man in his 50s was pulled from the water unresponsive at Kingston Wharf on Saturday morning (4 July). It’s understood the man had been diving at the time. Otago Lakes Central Police Investigation Manager Detective Senior Sergeant Steve Salton says the matter is with the Coroner to establish the cause of death with Police investigating. The man’s diving equipment will be examined to ensure that wasn’t a factor, he says.
Awaiting blood test after crash
Police are awaiting blood test results after a two-vehicle collision on Arthur’s Point Road at 8pm on Thursday, 2 July, when a vehicle allegedly crossed the centreline, colliding with an oncoming vehicle.
Shute says the oncoming driver had attempted to avoid the collision by braking. Nobody was injured.
Multiple spins on Kawarau Falls Bridge – Kingston Road
A driver crossing the Kawarau Falls Bridge on Kingston Road allegedly touched their breaks on a slight curve, losing control of the vehicle and spinning two to three times at 1pm on Saturday, 4 July, Shute says. The vehicle allegedly crossed the centreline and crashed into the concrete side of the bridge in the opposite lane. There were no other vehicles involved and nobody was injured, she says. The driver was issued with an infringement notice.
Vehicle slides off Coronet Peak Road
A People-Mover also slid off Coronet Peak Road on Monday, 6 July, thankfully off a less steep area below Car Park 3 and there were no injuries, according to FENZ Otago group manager Bobby Lamont. He’s urging people to watch following distances and beware of black ice with consistent minus5degC overnight temperatures last week. He says the de-icing agent used on roads is ineffective once temperatures drop to minus7degC. “If you don’t have to travel stay home.
Drink driving
A 24-year-old local man, who allegedly blew 797mcg, has been charged after Police responded to a call from a member of the public about an intoxicated man in Stanley Street at 9pm on Monday, 6 July.
