One of the men involved in a fatal police pursuit near Nelson at the weekend had previously been jailed for drink driving causing the death of a person.
Phillip Stretch, 33, was a passenger in a car that crashed during a police chase, killing him, the driver and an innocent motorist near Hope on Sunday morning.
Stretch was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison when he was 17, after killing a passenger in a crash near Motueka in May 2001.
He was also jailed in 2003 for driving while disqualified and theft offences.
Fairfax reports both Stretch and the driver of the offending vehicle, Johnathan Tairakena, 25, were well-known criminals and disqualified from driving at the time of the weekend incident.
Tairakena had been jailed in 2010 for burglary and theft offences.
Three died in a police pursuit at Hope near Nelson including an innocent member of the public. (Source: Other)
Meanwhile, the Nelson Mail reports the innocent victim in the crash, 53-year-old Carmen Marie Yanko, is believed to have been driving to set up her regular stall at Nelson's Sunday market, selling antiques and collectables, when she was hit by the car fleeing police.
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