Ford hits Tesla on bridge in NZ, driver runs & steals bus, gets chased down by baws on ATV

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This story is crazy. Like, really nuts.

A Tesla Model 3 gets hit by a Ford Falcon that was driving recklessly at high-speed on a one-way bridge. The offender in the Falcon realizes his car is trashed after the wreck and flees on foot. He then proceeds to steal a bus and gets chased down by an ATV. While in the bus, the driver is spotted by the owner of the severely damaged Model 3 and no, we're not making this stuff up.

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My Tesla Model 3 is almost certainly dead after a crash on a one-lane bridge this afternoon.....though we now have a story to tell.

My daughter and I were driving from Opotiki to Te Araroa to see NZ's biggest pohutakawa tree and have a late lunch.

We were about 42km west of Te Araroa and crossing the one-lane bridge over the Whangaparoa River. I'd pulled up and looked and the bridge was empty and nothing visible on the road beyond, though visibility wasn't perfect. It's a long bridge (200 metres approx).

I moved onto the bridge and then a Ford Falcon appeared, coming the other way at high speed. OK....well I'm already well onto on the bridge, so let's get over it.

He didn't stop or slow down and drove straight onto the bridge. I stopped, veering right, and he barely hesitated, racing past.....and took the left side off my car. We weren't hurt and the collision itself was minimal as far as impact force......

I moved the car off the bridge and it was clear from the noise and jolting that all was far from well, but it moved. I pulled over to the left once across.

I got out and looked across the bridge. I could see the driver of the Ford get out.......and he looked at me (about 200m away - it's a long bridge) and then he just turned and ran.

I walked across the bridge and checked out his car. Keys in the ignition. Stereo playing. Z petrol card and other documents on the passenger seat.

I called 111 to report the accident and an apparent hit and run. His car was blocking half the westbound lane.

Some people passed. One said they weren't surpised as they had seen the guy driving like a crazy man minutes before. A local couple went to keep my daughter company and another person, Rika, took me in his ute to the home of the sister of the local cop to try to reach him. I had no cell coverage other than 111 / emergency.

From the cop's sister's place I called AA and arranged a tow and started a claim. Then my kind driver took me back toward the bridge.

As we approached, a bus came out of a dirt track and it was belching huge clouds of white smoke. Really, REALLY big, bad amount of smoke. Behind the majorly smoking bus was a quad-bike driven by a wirey, grey-haired man. Rika asked why his bus was smoking so bad. Graham yelled back "Some arse has just stolen my bus!" Rika said "For real?" and Graham yelled back "Yeah! He's stolen my bus!"

So I jumped out of Rika's ute and they both took off after the bus.

There were some people running across the bridge and the local cop's ute was on the other side. He drove past me after the bus. They ran after the bus and down the road.

The bus thief was the driver of the car that had hit mine. He'd run up into the property just beyond where he'd abandoned his car.....and stolen the bus.

With at least 3 vehicles in hot pursuit he then drove the bus off the road into a paddock and got it bogged in a drain. Jumping out of the bus, he took off across the paddock on foot. By now there were half a dozen people chasing him and he was tackled by them and handed over to the cop. Last I heard, we was on his way to Whakatane to be charged. The whole thing was pure NZ as everyone (many not mentioned - too much detail) was very friendly and helpful and VERY keen to catch the bad guy who hit me and ran off.

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