By Tom McRae
The crash which fatally injured a woman when her vehicle and a police car collided has been described as an officer's "worst nightmare".
Mother of four Liku Onesi died after the car she was a passenger in was hit by a patrol car heading to an emergency in South Auckland.
Joseph Helu was left picking up the shattered pieces of a car which killed his friend.
"It's a broken-hearted thing, but everyone has to take it."
Ms Onesi was in the passenger seat of a Pajero when a police car with sirens on and lights flashing hit it on its way to an emergency.
"She is a very nice person, her brother is the pastor and they come from a good family," says Mr Helu.
Ms Onesi was on her way to the Otara Tongan Methodist Church where she'd worked for nine years with her husband. He was driving, but survived the crash and is in a serious but stable condition.
It's thought the car was turning into the church driveway when it was hit by the police car. It then smashed into a power pole and came to stop against a concrete wall.
Her body was thrown from the car. It's not known if she was wearing a seatbelt.
It's the first time since 1994 that an accident like this involving a police car has happened. It was described as every officer's "worst nightmare".
"As you can appreciate, the police officer is distressed and shocked," says Counties-Manukau district commander Supt John Tims. "He was taken to A&E but has been discharged."
The sergeant was on his way to a priority one call out.
"There was a number of offenders who had broken into a premise and they were still at the scene," says Mr Tims. "We have one offender in custody."
But that's little comfort to the four children now left without a mother.
"They didn't know their mum had passed away, the pastor told me they're going to go to the hospital and come back and go to school to let the kids know their mum passed away, but their dad is still in hospital," says Mr Helu.
The Serious Crash Unit and the Independent Police Conduct Authority is investigating.
3 News