Residents in the South Auckland suburb of Otara say it was only a matter of time before a police car was involved in a fatal crash on a stretch of road notorious for serious accidents.
A 40-year-old woman died when the vehicle she was in was hit by a police car on Ormiston Rd about 9am on Wednesday.
Her husband, who was driving, remains in Middlemore Hospital in stable condition.
The police car was on its way to a property break-in. A police sergeant has minor injuries.
Ormiston Rd resident Ian Vaeteru says it's a dangerous street for a motorist.
"The cops are renowned for speeding round here on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. There's always emergencies up and down the street.
"It's very busy, a lot of them are using their sirens and flashing lights, so they are continuously chasing people around this area.
"There's always accidents here, probably at least once or twice a week."
Tania Tamanui, who lives in the area, says she often sees police cars driving at high speed along the street, which is near a police station.
Another neighbour, Daryl, says it's not the first time a police car has been involved in an accident on that road.
"People drive too fast down there, especially the police ... they just go flat out down here. We had one on Friday over here, someone ran into our fence, and the police were chasing them as well."
Police won't say how fast the sergeant involved in the crash was travelling, but have said that his sirens and lights were on, and that he was on his way to a robbery at a property where the residents were at home.
Three investigations are under way into the crash.
