Motorist crashed into house while pursuing suspected leg thieves

A 64-year-old man's car hurtled through two fences before slamming into a house while he was chasing a group he believed had driven off with his prosthetic leg. The man gave chase following an altercation at a property in Whangarei, New Zealand, just after 9pm on Wednesday, police spokeswoman Sarah Kennett said.

The man believed the group had taken his false leg during the altercation. The cars headed down the street, side by side, said resident Josh Taueki. Mr Taueki described how the other car appeared to ram the man's car off the road. "They must have been doing 100-plus [kilometres per hour] at the corner," he said.



"When it crashed [the driver] was startled. The other car stopped, had a quick look and took off. He [the man who crashed] got out of the car, bleeding. He stood at the end of the car and was 'Yeah, nah, I'm all good'." Mrs Kennett said the driver was taken to hospital with a minor head injury.

Otherwise he was unharmed. The car was left wedged "almost halfway into the house", she said. Officers located the missing leg on the man's front lawn and returned it to him. "It must have been tossed out before he gave chase," Mrs Kennett added. Police are investigating the accident.