Young teens appear in court after crash that left police officer in coma

Author: Melissa Nightingale,
Publish Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2026, 12:41pm

The teens had their first appearance in the Palmerston North court today. File photo / Jeremy Wilkinson

The teenagers charged over a crash that has left a young policeman fighting for his life have appeared in court.

The pair face multiple charges between them, with the most serious being a charge of wounding the officer with reckless disregard. They have not yet admitted or denied the charges.

The officer is in a coma, with his family keeping a constant vigil at his hospital bedside after the incident, which happened in the early hours of Saturday.

He was deploying road spikes on Kairanga Bunnythorpe Rd, near Palmerston North, about 2am for a car that had fled police, when the vehicle crashed into the police car he was standing behind with a colleague. He was sent flying into another vehicle, suffering critical injuries.

The police officers were struck on Kairanga Bunnythorpe Rd just outside Palmerston North early Saturday morning. Image / Google Maps

Two teens, 14 and 15, were arrested and charged over the crash, with the latter accused of wounding with reckless disregard and reckless driving causing injury.

He also faces charges of failing to stop for police, unlawfully taking two vehicles valued at $10,000 and $19,000, and dangerous driving.

The younger defendant has two charges of unlawfully getting into a motor vehicle.

In the Palmerston North Youth Court this morning, the younger defendant appeared first, nursing a bandaged hand as he sat next to his defence lawyer.

Judge Lance Rowe remanded him to reappear in early October, with bail conditions including not to contact the other defendant, stay on a 5pm-8am curfew, and stay off social media, among other things.

Many of the same conditions were imposed on the older defendant, but he has been placed on a 24-hour curfew with some exceptions, including when he is under approved supervision or on an educational course.

He has also been remanded to early October.

The wounded officer remains in the intensive care unit in Wellington Hospital, surrounded by loved ones, including his toddler daughter.

Business leader Dame Therese Walsh, who has set up a Givealittle page to support the family, said the young girl is exploring the hospital and says good morning and goodnight to her dad every day.

Dame Therese Walsh has been speaking with the officer's family and offering her support.

Walsh told Ryan Bridge TODAY she had been speaking to the family this morning, who were following the news and were grateful for the messages of support from the public.

“Those messages are bolstering them as they go through a really difficult time,” she said.

“They’re a really strong, service-oriented family.

Walsh said the Givealittle aimed to invest in “an unknown future for the police officer, for his young daughter, partner and that young family as they move forward through a challenging time”.

“For you and I, Ryan, we go to work every day and we expect to come home in the same state that we went to work, generally speaking, but that’s not the case for our frontline workers,” she said.

Yesterday she told the Herald the family were in a “holding pattern” and felt a “loss of control” as they waited to see whether the officer’s condition would change at all.

He is still on a ventilator and is unconscious.

“They remain vigilant and hopeful ... they think he’s doing the best he can in the circumstances,” Walsh said.

Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice, and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 12 years.