An independent report has found police were justified in their actions during a pursuit in Nelson that ended with three deaths. The police car matched the speed of the fleeing vehicle, passing through a 70kmh and then a 100kmh speed zone. A Police Serious Crash Unit investigation found the Holden was travelling at about 130kmh at the time of impact, despite braking hard before the crash. Tairakena, the driver of the fleeing vehicle, was found to have methamphetamine in his system and had also been disqualified from driving. Stretch, the passenger in the vehicle, had previously killed Jamie Kelly in a booze-fuelled car crash in 2001 – and was wanted for dishonesty-related offending when the March 11 crash occurred.

Source: Stuff March 11, 2019 22:11 UTC