Jail for dad behind 4¾-hour, 250km-long police pursuit
WHAT sparked the biggest police chase in living memory can finally be revealed after the suspended driver who led officers on a 250km-long pursuit — with his unrestrained son by his side — was sentenced to a minimum of four and a half years jail.
Central Coast
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- Man faces court over NSW’s biggest ever police chase
- Dad arrested after five-hour police pursuit with child on board
WHAT sparked the biggest police chase in living memory can finally be revealed after the suspended driver who led officers on a 250km-long pursuit — with his unrestrained son by his side — was sentenced to a minimum of four and a half years jail.
The 41-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, buried his head in his hands as a Gosford District Court Judge sentenced him to a total aggregate sentence of seven years, with a non-parole period of four and a half.
It followed one of the biggest police pursuits in NSW history which began on Golflinks Drive, Watanobbi, at 11am on May 26 last year and ended in his arrest at 3.45pm at Colechin St, Yagoona.
“The police pursuit had lasted for a duration of four hours and 45 minutes and involved a distance of over 250 kilometres and involved substantial deployment of NSW Police resources including Police Airwing Helicopters, Police Dog Squad, Police Public Order and Riot Squad, Police Highway Patrol and numerous other unmarked and marked police vehicles,” an agreed statement of facts read.
The court heard the man had been a long time drug user, who’s addiction was responsible for most of his criminal history.
It can now be revealed he was on a two-year good behaviour bond for torching a Subaru he had broken into and supplying drugs when he was picked up two months later with a sawn-off shotgun under the passenger seat of his car.
Warrants were issued for his arrest when he failed to appear at court in March and April last year so Wyong police went around to sit off his house about 8am on May 26.
The court heard he “lost it” when he realised his bail had been revoked and grabbed his two-year-old son under his arm and fled the house at 10.58am.
Police chased him on foot but he managed to get into the flat-bed Hino and lock the doors before revving the engine loudly and accelerating harshly away.
A fully marked police car tried to block Britannia Drive but had to swerve out of the way when “the offender continued to accelerate directly towards (the car) with the offender looking directly at the officers of (the car) and raising his fist”.
In the following pursuit the P-driver, who was unlicensed because of a demerit suspension, ran red lights, crossed to the wrong side of the road to avoid spikes and rammed two police cars after he tried to pull into a Caltex service station at Merrylands.
Authorities even went as far as raising the Swansea Bridge in an effort to apprehend him but he did a U-turn.
At one point he rang Wyong Police Station telling reception he would kill himself if police did not stop following him.
A police negotiator managed to speak to him a few times on his mobile phone with the man saying he was on his way to drop off his son at a relatives and “once I hand him over I will hand myself in”.
After ramming two unmarked police cars at the Caltex the man told the negotiator: “I told you I wasn’t stopping, if any more police cars try and get in my way, I will ram them too, keep them away from me”.
Appearing in court via video link from Parklea Correctional Centre the man clutched his chest at times while his breathing laboured.
He had earlier pleaded guilty to using the truck as offensive weapon to prevent lawful detention and failing to stop during a police pursuit.
A number of other traffic offences including driving an unregistered truck while unlicensed, negligent driving and having an unrestrained child in the front cabin were listed on a section 166 certificate to be taken into account during sentencing.
The court heard he was not thinking “rationally” and was on drugs.
With time already served he will be eligible for parole on November 30, 2020.
WATANOBBI TO YAGOONA VIA SWANSEA
11am:
■ Jumps into flat-bed tuck on GolfLinks Drive, Watanobbi, chased by police
■ drives at a police car forcing it to swerve out of the way on Britannia Drive
■ gets onto the Pacific Highway and heads north
■ crosses to the wrong side of the road at the intersection of Minnesota Rd to avoid road spikes
■ continues north through Wadalba, Charmhaven and Doyalson where he does a U-turn and then another U-turn
■ runs a red light at the intersection of Elizabeth Bay Drive and Pacific Highway
■ gets to Swansea but the bridge is up so he does another U-turn
■ gets onto the M1 at Halloran followed by many unmarked police vehicles
11:50am:
■ he rings Wyong Police Station threatening to kill himself if police don’t stop following him
12pm:
■ a police negotiator gets onto him and tells him he needs to pull over because he’s endangering his child and other motorists
12.17pm:
■ reaches the Mooney Mooney Creek Bridge where a police helicopter begins following him from the air
■ heads down Pennant Hills Rd onto Marsden Rd at Carlingford
■ turns onto Stewart St, Dundas Valley, before taking Fariola St at Silverwater
■ continues via side streets to Parramatta Rd, Auburn, and onto Woodville Rd, Holroyd
■ takes side streets to Lackey St, Merrylands
1.13pm:
■ drives into Caltex services station at corner of Lackey St and Woodville Rd
■ before he can get out to fill up two unmarked police cars cut him off front and rear
■ he drives forward pushing one car sideways before reversing into the other car pushing it backwards
■ detective runs out and smashes the truck’s driver’s side window to try and get him to stop
■ police officer draws his firearm yelling `stop, police, get out of the truck’
■ truck exits service station via Woodville Rd narrowly missing a Police Dog Unit vehicle
■ continues driving through Guildford, Fairfield East, Carramar, Warwick Farm and Chipping Norton
1.57pm:
■ drives along Governor Macquarie Drive, Chipping Norton
2.10pm:
■ PolAir 3 returns to the pursuit after refuelling and follows him through Bankstown, Sefton, Regents Park, Granville and Auburn
2.28pm:
■ rings police negotiators saying: “I’m about to drop my child off to my sister and then I will hand myself in” however failed to do so
2.56pm:
■ collides with the rear of a white van on Cumberland Rd, Auburn
■ crosses double white lines and continues south through Regents Park, Sefton, Chester Hill, Bass Hill and Yagoona
3.41pm:
■ police attempt to block him at Dargan Rd, Yagoona, but he drove onto the nature strip and continued north on Valentine St, Yagoona.
3.45pm:
■ police close the net blocking both directions as he drives south along Colechin St, Yagoona
■ man is arrested and his two-year-old son is recovered unrestrained in the passenger seat.