Burn and crash rider does a runner
Police have appealed for help after a mysterious bike crash in Hamilton during the week.
Firefighters and police were called to a suspicious crash on Wairere Drive in which a 350cc motorcycle burnt out.
No other vehicles were involved in the crash on Wairere Road between Pukete and Flagstaff, last week.
An eye witness saw flames before the biker crashed.
The biker was almost immediately picked up by a second motorcyclist, and the two sped off abandoning a backpack and the bike.
An eye witness described the incident as absolutely bizarre.
“I saw it unfold in front of me. It was huge flames. It was huge. So it caught fire. I wondered if there was drugs that caught fire in his bag. I don’t know.
“I was very surprised how when it went on fire and skidded along into the ditch, there was another motorcyclist who must have been quite a way behind, and this guy [that crashed] didn’t get out a mobile or anything like that, and he [the second motorcyclist] just pulled up, and the guy whose thing was on fire jumped on the back and shot off with him.
“So it might have been stolen.”
The witness suggested other aspects of the event raised suspicion, including that the first motorcyclist threw aside the backpack he had been carrying.
“In the rucksack, they [police] found some sort of a cooker, a bottle brush, and something else.
“Maybe there was drugs involved. Maybe it was meth or crystal meth, cooking it, or I don’t know. Very strange. Very strange.
“He just shot off so fast I wondered if it was stolen or drugs. That’s what I thought.
“He just dumped it and ran.”
Senior Sergeant Pete Simpson from Hamilton police described the circumstances as suspicious.
“Most people don’t burn out their vehicles. The vehicle was badly burnt.”
He mentioned other out-of-the-ordinary aspects about the case. “We could not find identifying marks on the vehicle.”
Simpson also said the number plate did not match the motorcycle.
“Unless we’ve got identifying marks, we can’t prove whether it’s stolen or not.
“At this stage, that’s yet to be determined. Someone could have burnt their own vehicle. We don’t know.
“If anyone has any information about this matter, we want them to call the Hamilton police on 858 6200.”
