With a 73-year-old grandmother critically injured and growing frustration over what they believed was police inaction, a traumatised Auckland family turned to a controversial Facebook page – setting off a viral hunt for a “drunk driver” police now say never existed.  On the evening of January 5, a post titled “SEARCHING FOR THE DRUNK DRIVER THAT CAUSED THIS MESS” appeared on the Checkpoint Watch Auckland Facebook page. It outlined what it said was the ordeal of a Kiwi-Filipino family in the days before Christmas, after a serious crash left five relatives injured and their grandmother in intensive care.  When contacted by the Herald, the Filipino driver said the crash was shocking.  “I felt like I died for like three seconds and then I woke up and was like, ‘Oh, shoot, we crashed and someone hit us’.”  The post included photos of the 73-year-old woman in ICU, the crash scene, and a picture of a man standing next to a damaged SUV holding an object. It claimed he was the offending driver and that he had been drinking alcohol at the scene. It is unclear to the Herald whether the man identified in the image was driving the other vehicle involved in the crash.  One of the photos posted to Facebook. Police say alcohol played no part in the crash. Photo / Supplied  More than 2000 people reacted to the post and more than 400 commented, ranging from outrage and support for the family, to criticism of the irony of a plea for justice on a site devoted to alerting drivers to police breath-testing checkpoints.  Some commenters claiming to be witnesses offered conflicting versions of what happened. One claimed the SUV driver caused the crash and another said the SUV was struck by another vehicle.  What the post, which was uploaded on behalf of the family, unquestionably captured was trauma. Five members of the same family, driving to the airport to drop the grandparents off for a Christmas trip to the Philippines, were involved in a collision and their lives changed in a moment.  The message on Facebook was a well-intentioned plea for justice accusing the pictured individual of being under the influence and causing mayhem.  But the driver wasn’t drunk. Police told the Herald the alleged offender registered a blood alcohol reading of zero.  Police also issued a warning.  “Police remind the public that making accusations and sharing misinformation online is unhelpful and can be risky. This type of activity can compromise investigations and be harmful to individuals.”  Family demands accountability  On December 19, just before 5am, the older woman was sitting in the rear left seat of the family Mazda on the way to the airport, with her son-in-law in the driver’s seat.  In the front passenger seat was her son, and beside her in the back were her 9-year-old grandson and 72-year-old husband.  They were on an early morning airport drop-off for a Christmas trip to the Philippines.  The family told the Herald they were waiting at the lights at the Maioro St interchange, preparing to turn right to head south on to the Southwestern Motorway.  They claim that as the lights turned green, the driver made the turn and the vehicle was allegedly struck on the left passenger side, sending the red Mazda MPV spinning.  The 73-year-old woman suffered critical injuries in the accident and was taken to intensive care. Photo / Supplied  Immediately the driver, who was initially stunned, checked his son in the back of the car and saw his mother-in-law bleeding from her head and arm.  “I made sure she’s alive. I checked her pulse.”  Although she was alive, the elderly woman had suffered a broken neck, pelvis and ribs, a head injury and a tear to her aorta, he said.  “Everything happened all at once, and then there’s ambulance, there’s police, there’s a fire truck.”  He checked on the rest of his family. All were battered and bruised and woul...