Driver runs down 2 New Zealand police officers, killing 1

A driver ran down two New Zealand police officers as they patrolled on foot in the early hours of New Year's Day, killing one and seriously injuring the other, the country's police chief said.

The attack jolted a country where the killing of police officers on duty is rare. Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming was the first female officer in New Zealand's history killed by a criminal act while at work, police said Thursday.

In Wednesday's attack, the vehicle drove into the officers "at speed" as they performed a routine patrol of a parking lot, before the driver turned and rammed a police car, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told reporters in the South Island city of Nelson. Fleming died in a local hospital hours later.