Fleeing driver tries swimming to escape Bay of Plenty PoliceNIKKI SOUTH/SUNLIVE A man was fished out of the river after abandoning a burning car on Wairoa Bridge, near Bethlehem in Tauranga. Police followed at a distance to observe, a statement said, and set up spikes near Wairoa Bridge on State Highway 2, just out of Tauranga. DAN IACCARINO/SUNLIVE When the driver got up to spikes near the Wairoa Bridge, police noticed the underbelly of the car was on fire. By the time the car approached another set of spikes near Wairoa Bridge, police saw the underbody of the car was on fire. "The driver abandoned the car and jumped into the Wairoa River, swimming towards the ocean," police said.

Source: Stuff March 11, 2018 22:52 UTC