Mitchell Thomas Malcolm Skinner sentenced for high-speed crash at Bowenville

Police first observed a Toyota sedan doing more than 160km/h at Allora and within an hour it was on its roof at Bowenville after the driver ran another vehicle off the road.

At 25 years old, Mitchell Thomas Malcolm Skinner is very familiar with the inside of a jail cell, having spent six of the past seven years locked up.

But the Warwick man has some time still to go before he tastes freedom after he was jailed for evading police and crashing into another driver at more than 140km/h.

Yesterday the Toowoomba Magistrates Court was told Allora police observed Skinner in a red Toyota Aurion on the New England Highway about 3.45pm on September 26, 2021.

Police prosecutor Bettina Trenear said checks revealed the sedan was bearing false plates so police activated their lights and sirens.

“(Skinner) did not stop,” she said.

Instead he sped off at what police estimated to be about 160km/h.

About an hour later, emergency services were called to a two-vehicle crash on the Warrego Highway.

Ms Trenear said police arrived to find the Aurion on its roof and a damaged Holden Barina off the side of the road.

Witnesses described seeing Skinner overtaking traffic at about 140km/h before rear-ending the Barina.

They also describe seeing Skinner run from the scene, through a sorghum paddock.

“Police told him they wanted to speak to him, and he ran in the opposite direction,” Mr Trenear said.

Officers attempted to chase Skinner on foot but when it became apparent that he would not stop, they drove through the crops to apprehend him.

Acting for the defence, solicitor Matt Gemmell told the court his client was traumatised from watching his mother’s long fight against cancer when he was a child which led to anxiety, depression and later drug addiction as an adult.

Mr Gemmell said his client had served lengthy periods in jail for armed robbery and drug trafficking and was on parole at the time of the crash.

He added that his client had become homeless and was worried he would go back to jail when police flashed their lights and sirens on the New England Highway, so he panicked.

Skinner entered guilty pleas for 18 offences on Friday, including evading police and dangerous operation of a vehicle.

Magistrate Kay Ryan sentenced Skinner to 16 months in jail.

After he had recorded 195 days of pre-sentence custody, Ms Ryan gave Skinner immediate parole eligibility.

“You have made some extremely bad choices in your short life,” she said.

Originally published as Mitchell Thomas Malcolm Skinner sentenced for high-speed crash at Bowenville