'Innocent lives at risk': High-speed chase causes chaos

'It would have been very easy in those circumstances for the car to have crashed and someone to have been killed or hurt.'

SPEED CHASE: The 25-year old man nearly hit three other vehicles when he was driving at speeds of 180km/h on Cherbourg Rd. Picture: Jessica McGrath

A 25-YEAR old Murgon man pleaded guilty to a series a offences including a dangerous car chase earlier this week.

The man was found guilty on 13 charges when he faced Murgon Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.

Magistrate Louisa Pink said the defendant's "reckless behaviour" didn't just put his own life at risk, but put the lives of innocent people on the road in jeopardy.

"You were driving at speeds at approximately 180 kilometres per hour on Cherbourg Rd which is an 80km/h zone," Ms Pink said.

"You drifted onto the wrong side of the road and police had to take evasive action to avoid a high-speed head-on crash," she said.

When police did a U-turn, the defendant continued to drive at a similar speed towards Cherbourg, and two other cars had to swerve off the road to avoid a collision.

The defendant ran away from police but was subsequently caught.

Ms Pink said the defendant needed to stop and think about how he would feel if he killed someone.

"This is very, very, very dangerous driving," Ms Pink said.

"It would have been very easy in those circumstances for the car to have crashed, and someone to have been killed or hurt."

Ms Pink summarised the other serious offence amongst the 13 charges he faced - a domestic violence offence.

"The police were called by your brother because he was afraid of you," Ms Pink said.

"When they started to comply with you, you wouldn't put the knife down, which resulted in a police officer presenting his gun.

"That became very dangerous for you and they said that you refused to comply with them and were just staring at them.

"You continued towards the police, which is why they tasered you and fortunately it didn't escalate any further."

Defence lawyer Tim Campion proceeded to present the defendant's mental health record to the court.

He said his client had been living on and off with his mother in Murgon who had great concerns for her son.

Ms Pink said she took into consideration the facts of the matter and his documented mental health issues which would have reduced his moral culpability.

She convicted and sentenced the defendant to nine months' imprisonment for the dangerous operation of the motor vehicle, and nine months' imprisonment for the serious assault.

As he had already served nine months in pre-sentence custody, the defendant was eligible for parole as of September 3.

He was also convicted of 11 other charges including assault occasioning bodily harm, common assault, entering dwelling with intent to threat, possessing dangerous drugs, wilful damage, another count of possession with a knife in public space, stealing, driving without a licence as it was disqualified by a court order and unlawful possession of suspected stolen property.

All convictions were recorded.

Originally published as 'Innocent lives at risk': High-speed chase causes chaos