A 27-year-old man has been killed in a crash following a police pursuit in the Bay of Plenty.
One of the passengers in the car was taken to hospital with critical injuries, but is now in a stable condition in Waikato Hospital's high dependency unit, while a third has minor injuries.
The chase started late last night when a driver failed to stop for police in Whakatane but the police say it was abandoned within one minute because the driver was going too fast.
About four minutes later police found the vehicle on Taneatua Road.
Inspector Brent Crowe said it appears the car became airborne, and hit a large tree.
He said while police were not pursuing the car when it crashed, the matter will be investigated, and the Independent Police Conduct Authority notified.
