RBT mayhem as P-plater gets crash course in karma
A P-PLATER has written off his car after speeding off to avoid an random breath test in Sydney’s inner west — just a day after a police officer lost part of his leg in a sickening crash at another RBT site.
NSW
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A P-PLATER has written off his car after speeding off to avoid an random breath test in Sydney’s inner west — just a day after a police officer lost part of his leg in a sickening crash at another RBT site.
The 19-year-old driver initially approached officers in Homebush slowly before hitting the accelerator and rocketing away at 1.40am yesterday.
Police jumped in their cars and gave chase but quickly called off the high-speed pursuit. The P-plater then wrapped his car around a light pole in Lidcombe, with the tearaway teen’s vehicle also hitting a brick wall and three parked cars as it flipped over onto its side.
Chief Inspector Phil Brooks, from the Traffic & Highway Patrol Command, said investigations were ongoing but charges are expected to be laid in the coming days.
“Investigating police will await blood and urine tests. However, they are continuing their investigation with the view to proffering serious traffic charges,” Chief Insp Brooks said.
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It was the third alleged dangerous situation that highway patrol officers carrying out RBT’s were confronted with at the weekend, including the horrific incident at 8.30pm on Friday in which two police officers were slammed into at 60km/h by Jakob Thornton while he was allegedly distracted by his mobile phone.
Support was yesterday flooding in for father-of-three Senior Constable Jonathon Wright, who has been moved out of the ICU at Liverpool Hospital after having his foot and 15cm up his leg amputated after it was crushed in the collision.
Senior Constable Matthew Foley, also a father, remains in a stable condition in hospital with a fractured leg sustained in the crash.
A close family friend told The Daily Telegraph Sr Const Wright and his wife Lisa were incredibly grateful for almost $70,000 donated to a GoFundMe account set up to help them. The friend issued a desperate plea to motorists: “Just stay off your phone when behind the wheel.”
Thornton, 22, who has already had his licence suspended four times, will remain behind bars until his next court appearance on Wednesday facing seven charges including dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.
Also on Friday night another driver, Grant Scaysbrook, allegedly assaulted two police officers after refusing to provide a breath sample to police at an RBT on the northern beaches.
By yesterday afternoon, police had carried out more than 118,000 RBTs as part of the three-day blitz Operation Drink Drive, issuing 4410 traffic infringements, including 1775 for speeding.
Almost 70 drivers were charged with drink-driving offences.