Resident rammed by her mum’s stolen Mazda after midnight break-in

A mother who was cornered, rammed and chased by stolen cars wreaking havoc around Townsville, including her mother’s stolen blue Mazda, said it’s only a matter of time before someone is killed.

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A MOTHER who was cornered, rammed and chased by stolen cars wreaking havoc around Townsville said it’s only a matter of time before someone is killed.

Ms Raymond, a mother of four who did not want to give her full name, went into “full crisis control” on Saturday morning after a stolen silver Volkswagen Amarok rammed into the side of her family van, exactly where her toddler was sitting

The stolen ute caused utter chaos across the city for most of the weekend, and was driving in convoy with a brand new Mazda CX-3, stolen from Ms Raymond’s mother’s driveway the night before.

In the bizarre turn of events, Ms Raymond spotted a “flash of blue” while driving her mum and children to Townsville Airport about 2pm to pick up a temporary hire car for her mother.

The brand new Mazda had been stolen the night before, along with Christmas presents, belongings and her mum’s phone.

Police officers rocked up at the Kirwan house at 2.30am, walking straight through the jimmied-open front door, to alert her mum of the theft.

“I said ‘I reckon that’s your car, mum’,” Ms Raymond said while peering into bushland at Happy Valley.

Ms Raymond decided to turn around, thinking the silver ute parked near the Mazda was an undercover police car that had found the car dumped.

It wasn’t long before she realised it was not police.

“I pulled in about 10m away and realised it wasn’t cops … they all jumped in the car and flew past us,” she said.

Ms Raymond’s mum was calling triple-0 while she frantically tried to retreat, but it was too late.

Scratch marks and dents are evident where a stolen car rammed into Ms Raymond’s vehicle.

The silver car “came full circle and rammed” straight into the side of the car.

Ms Raymond’s two-year-old child was in the direct line of impact.

The cars tried to corner Ms Raymond’s van and ram her a second time, and when she fled they chased her until she jutted onto a main road.

Ms Raymond is not insured, but says she is just glad no one was hurt.

“It all happened within less than a minute,” she said.

“Totally reckless … the guy in the dual-cab. Even the look in his eyes was just blank (as he rammed me).

“There is a serious lack of respect and these young kids will kill themselves or kill someone, that’s a very real reality.”

The blue Mazda was found in the early hours of Monday morning, after more than two days after it was stolen, and the day after her mum’s birthday.

It has been impounded for forensic investigation, and until that was completed the family had no idea what kind of shape the car was in.

In the last week, 23 charges of unlawful use of a motor vehicle have been pressed in the Townsville District.

Four stolen cars from the last 14 days remain on the loose, as of Monday morning.

Ms Raymond suspected the thieves were scoping out the area the night before they broke in, saying the neighbour’s gurney had been randomly switched on in the middle of the night.

As for Ms Raymond, her van was not insured, but she didn’t care.

“I’m just thankful no-one was hurt,” she said.

Originally published as Resident rammed by her mum’s stolen Mazda after midnight break-in