At about 4:30am this morning, two men entered a Hastings address and seriously assaulted the occupants. A male and female in their early 20s sustained broken elbows, a broken wrist and finger and a suspected fractured eye socket.
One of the offenders was armed with and used a wooden bat or pole. Property belonging to the victims was also taken during the incident.
The offenders have then left the area in a stolen vehicle, a silver Nissan Primera sedan registration AAN887.
This vehicle was sighted by a member of the public this morning in Napier and fled from Police. This was abandoned after the driver of the stolen car drove at excess speed, crossed the centre line and overtook several cars in a dangerous manner. The pursuit lasted approximately 4-5 minutes.
A second pursuit of the same vehicle started in Taupo around 11:45am after the vehicle failed to stop for Police.
Road spikes were deployed on SH6 near Mountain Road. The vehicle hit the spikes and has veered off the road and into a tree.
All three occupants have serious injuries and are on their way to hospitals in the upper North Island.
Police are investigating all three incidents and no further comment will be made at this stage. Any sightings of the Nissan, in particular the manner of driving leading up to and during the incidents, can be reported to Napier and Taupo Police.