Police are investigating an incident in which a man was run over by two cars, one of them a police car, leaving him with serious injuries.
Officers were called to the incident, near Kaikohe in Northland, just after midnight on Thursday.
They say it appears the man, who was wearing dark clothes, was lying in the middle of the road when a car hit him and a following police car also ran over the man.
Inspector Murray Hodson said on Friday the man could not be seen by the drivers and he smelt strongly of alcohol.
"Indications are that neither driver would have been able to take evasive action to avoid hitting the prone man and our inquiry will examine the actions of both drivers."
The man is in Northland Hospital.
Mr Hodson said the crash is being investigated by the serious crash unit and has been referred to the Independent Police Conduct Authority.
