New Zealand

Speeding cop whose crash injured a driver avoids conviction

13:14 pm on 18 February 2019

A police officer has avoided conviction after driving at almost two and a half times the speed limit and seriously injuring a person in a resulting crash.

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He was responding to a job and was at one point driving 119km/h in a 50km/h zone.

The unnamed police officer was heading to a burglary in South Auckland's Counties Manukau district.

As he neared the address, he turned off his sirens and flashing lights, but continued speeding.

The officer crashed into a vehicle which was waiting to turn into another road. The driver was badly injured.

Data from the police car showed he was driving at 119km/h a few seconds before the crash but braked heavily and was travelling at 69km/h half a second before impact.

Police charged him with dangerous driving causing injury.

A court discharged him without conviction following a restorative justice meeting with the victim.

It is not clear whether he was subject to any disciplinary action.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority oversaw the police investigation into the incident.