Mangakino fatal crash: Taupō Police search for witness who saw Toyota driving dangerously
The woman reported seeing a Toyota RAV4 cutting corners and crossing the centre line at about 2.45pm on Monday, April 21, shortly before a fatal crash that left one person dead and two others seriously injured.
Taupō serious crash unit Sergeant Shane McNally said the RAV4's driver has since pleaded guilty to careless driving causing death.
'The 64-year-old man is due to be sentenced in the Auckland District Court on May 6.'
McNally said police would like to speak further to the witness who made the complaint to get more information.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
18-05-2025
- NZ Herald
Second suspect arrested over Sir Keir Starmer firebomb attacks
The first incident occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning last week (local time) when a Toyota Rav 4, which used to belong to Starmer but had been sold to a neighbour following the general election, was damaged in a fire. Two days later, a flat in Islington that he used to own in the 1990s was allegedly targeted. Then, in the early hours of Monday morning (local time), the Prime Minister's family home in Tufnell Park, which is rented out to his sister-in-law, was set alight. While nobody was hurt at the property, the front door and entrance area were damaged. Counter-terror police began investigating a number of potential motives, including whether a hostile state was behind the attacks. Separate arrest Separately, Roman Lavrynovych, 21, of Sydenham, South London, was charged and appeared in court earlier this week in connection with three counts of arson with intent to endanger life. Lavrynovych was remanded in custody after a Westminster Magistrates' Court hearing. The court was told he lived with his grandmother and was asleep at their property when police raided it in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Speaking in the House of Commons, Starmer told MPs that attacks against politicians were an attack on democracy. Lavrynovych's father said that, while his son was a proud Ukrainian, he had always admired the UK. Mykola Lavrynovych, 48, added: 'Roman came to London for the first time when he was 10 years old. He spent a year, as his mother was working there. 'He went to a British school and studied there for one year. When the invasion started, he left Ukraine for Germany, but after a year he moved to London, which he really liked and wanted to stay there.' His father went on: 'He has an uncle who is fighting on the front line against the Russians and he is 100% pro-Ukrainian. He has never spoken Russian and doesn't allow his sister and brother, or anybody else even, to listen to Russian music.' Roman Lavrynovych was initially living with his mother and younger siblings but when his sister was unable to get a school place in London, she returned to Ukraine and he remained, living with his grandmother. He set up a building company but had also signed with a modelling agency and is a regular at a local gym in Sydenham, South London. Photographs of him on social media show him doing press-ups in his bedroom. His father said Lavrynovych had been happy and settled in the UK and had a girlfriend who was also Ukrainian. He added that he had spoken to him on the telephone just hours before his arrest in the early hours of Tuesday morning, local time. Appearing before Westminster magistrates on Friday morning, local time, he spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth via a Ukrainian interpreter, with his lawyer saying his English was 'very limited'.
NZ Herald
13-05-2025
- NZ Herald
Car damaged in suspected arson attack used to belong to British PM
Two days after the vehicle blaze, a flat once owned by Starmer in Islington in the 1990s was also damaged in an alleged arson attack. And in a third incident in the early hours of Monday morning, Starmer's family home in Tufnell Park was targeted in a suspected firebomb incident. Counter-terrorism police are investigating the three incidents and a 21-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life. The Toyota Rav 4 was the same vehicle driven by Starmer when he was involved in a road traffic accident with a Deliveroo driver in Camden. It earlier emerged that the Prime Minister's four-bedroom family home in Tufnell Park, north London, is rented to his sister-in-law. It is understood that since moving into Downing Street following last July's general election, Starmer has been renting out the property to his sister-in-law and her family for a peppercorn rent. The arrangement is declared through the ministerial register of interests, but as the rental income does not meet the £10,000-a-year threshold ($22,000), it does not have to be declared on the MPs' register. Car fire 'like a nightmare' Video has emerged of the car fire that happened yards from the property on May 8. Linda Perry, 80, a retired dinner lady who has lived on the street for more than 30 years, filmed the blaze from her window. She said: 'It was like a nightmare. I heard someone screaming fire and I woke up. I saw the car and went back and got my phone. 'It was a bit of a shock. Having two fires in one week is so strange. But I'm too old to get scared now. When you see something like that it's so bright. You see it on the television but I've never seen it in person.' Photographs shared with the Telegraph show the car consumed by flames, while a further image taken after the fire was extinguished shows the charred engine of the vehicle, which is believed to have belonged to a neighbour. The arrested man was detained in the early hours of Tuesday morning on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life in connection with the fire at Starmer's property. He remains in custody. The man was detained in Sydenham in south London, Scotland Yard has confirmed. The area is about 19km from Tufnell Park, where Starmer's family home was allegedly attacked. In an update, Scotland Yard said detectives were continuing to question the suspect. ' While nobody was hurt in the fire at the family home, the entrance to the terraced property was damaged. The suspicious blaze at the property in Islington was reported on Sunday. Starmer bought the maisonette in 1991 with his then girlfriend, whom he met at university. He moved out in 1997, selling it for £170,000. A Downing Street spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister thanks the emergency services for their work. The incident is subject to a live investigation and we won't be commenting further.' London Fire Brigade said it was called just after 1.30am on Monday to reports of a blaze at the entrance of a three-storey terraced property in the Tufnell Park area. Two fire engines responded and extinguished the blaze while a large number of police also attended the scene. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'Damage was caused to the property's entrance. Nobody was hurt. 'As a precaution and due to the property having previous connections with a high-profile public figure, officers from the Met's Counter-Terrorism Command are leading the investigation into this fire. inquiries are ongoing to establish what caused it.' The spokesman added that police were investigating whether the three blazes were linked. Neighbours in the quiet tree-lined street described how they were woken by a loud bang before police arrived. Charles Grant, 66, said: 'Police searched my garden and said they were looking for something somebody had thrown but they didn't find anything. They said they were looking for a projectile. 'From what other people have told me today, I gather someone threw a firebomb at Keir Starmer's house.' Advertise with NZME. He added: 'I heard a loud noise at around midnight. I was half asleep. It was some sort of bang. I went back to sleep. I don't think the damage was too extensive as the house is still standing. 'The front door and the brickwork on either side is black and charred but the door is still standing. It smells of burnt stuff. 'The police said the damage is not extensive — just needs a bit of paintwork.' Dave Russell, 65, a Tufnell Park neighbour, said: 'We just saw the fire engine outside. About 1.30am, the police knocked on the door and asked if we saw anything. And that's when we found out that someone tried to set his house on fire.' On the previous fire on May 8, he said: 'The car was obviously set alight at 3am. We were all looking at the car set ablaze. 'We thought the car was an accident because it was one of those hybrids but now they think it's connected. It was really bad, it started banging and everything. We thought it was going to explode. The car was completely gutted.' Advertise with NZME. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, condemned the suspected arson attacks, writing on X: 'This is a shocking incident. My thoughts are with the Prime Minister and his family. 'No one should face these sorts of threats, let alone people in public service. It's an attack on our democracy and must never be tolerated.' Last year, prior to the general election, the Prime Minister's home became the target of pro-Palestinian demonstrations. One group hung a banner outside the property that read 'Starmer stop killing' surrounded by red hand prints. Protesters from Youth Demand also placed four rows of children's shoes in front of the property to represent those killed in Gaza. Lady Starmer, who is of Jewish heritage, said she felt 'a bit sick' when she returned home to see the demonstration. Monday's fire broke out just hours before the Prime Minister unveiled plans to clamp down on immigration.
1News
29-04-2025
- 1News
Mystery caller sought by police after horror crash near Mangakino
Police are seeking a mystery woman who made a complaint about a driver moments before the vehicle was involved in a fatal crash near Waikato's Mangakino last week. The female caller was following a black Toyota RAV4 along State Highway 47 towards Tūrangi at approximately 2.45pm on April 21, Sergeant Shane McNally said. The woman told police the vehicle was "cutting corners and crossing the centre-line". The RAV4 was involved in a fatal crash on Waipapa Rd north of Mangakino shortly afterwards. One person died at the scene and two people were taken to hospital with serious injuries. The driver, a 64-year-old man, would be sentenced in the Auckland District Court on May 6 after pleading guilty to careless driving causing death. "Police would like to speak further to the female who made the driving complaint to get more information, as their phone number appears to be a 'roaming number' which does not connect when called back," McNally said. The woman was believed to be travelling from Whanganui towards Tūrangi with a man also the vehicle at the time of the call. The caller or anyone who knew the pair were asked to contact police online and click "Update Report", or call 105.
