Auckland police upgraded actor Cliff Curtis's drink-driving case to a charge of causing injury.

Thursday's upgraded count is a charging decision. It is not a conviction, and Curtis has not pleaded. 1News reported the alleged reading sits above New Zealand's 80-milligram criminal threshold for an adult driver. His public apology is his statement. It is not a guilty plea entered in court.

RNZ, 1News, and the NZ Herald reported that Clifford Vivian Devon Curtis, 58, the New Zealand actor known for Once Were Warriors and Avatar, was excused from Auckland District Court on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, on medical grounds. 1News reported police have an upgraded charge of causing injury while driving with excess blood alcohol, and that he is also accused of reckless driving. RNZ described the injury count as driving with excess breath alcohol causing injury and said he is also charged with reckless driving. The NZ Herald reported police asked Judge Ajit Swaran Singh to amend an earlier drink-driving allegation to drink-driving causing injury. An amended charge is still an accusation. It is not a finding that Curtis committed either offense.

1News reported the charges come from a Sept. 23 crash at Jellicoe Street and Halsey Street in the Wynyard Quarter, where Curtis's Tesla and a taxi were badly damaged and two people were taken to hospital, including the taxi driver, who was seriously hurt. The NZ Herald reported authorities had said the Tesla hit a parked Toyota Prius taxi around 10:30 p.m., and it named the driver as Gagan Deep Singh, who told the paper a doctor had ordered him onto bed rest for two months. Charging documents seen by 1News allege a blood-alcohol reading of 122 milligrams per 100 milliliters of blood. 1News reported that for an adult driver a reading above 80 milligrams is a criminal matter, while a reading from 51 to 80 is an infringement. RNZ reported the injury charge carries a maximum of five years in prison or a $20,000 fine, plus a mandatory driving disqualification of at least 12 months, and that reckless driving carries up to three months in prison or a $4,500 fine.

RNZ reported Judge Singh granted bail conditions that Curtis not contact the injured driver and not drive. The NZ Herald reported his lawyer, Samuel Moore, did not dispute those conditions, which police prosecutor Karam Talwar requested. RNZ rendered the prosecutor's name as Karamvir Talwar. 1News reported the lawyer told the court Curtis could not travel to Auckland to sign bail documents and raised concerns about his health. Curtis has not entered a plea, RNZ reported. In a statement released the night before the hearing, he said he was still recovering at home from internal injuries, that he had made "a devastating mistake," and that he was "deeply sorry," with his thoughts with the injured taxi driver and his family, 1News and the NZ Herald reported. That statement is not a plea in court.

1News reported he is due back in Auckland District Court later this month. The coverage did not give a calendar date for that return. The injury count and the reckless-driving count remain accusations until a court enters a judgment. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.