Troy Mark Thompson charged, in court after bizarre slow-speed M1 pursuits
A man was allegedly intoxicated and unlicensed when he led police on a bizarre chase down the motorway, reportedly driving on four blown-out tyres and throwing items at his pursuers. READ THE LATEST
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A man charged with leading police on a bizarre slow-speed pursuit down the M1 was allegedly unlicensed and intoxicated at the time.
Troy Mark Thompson has been identified as the man allegedly behind the wheel of a Mitsubishi Triton ute that reportedly dropped to speeds near 30km/h during the strange incident that brought parts of the major Gold Coast route to a halt on Monday.
He is charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance, driving under the influence of liquor or a drug, evasion offence (damages property), unlicensed driving while disqualified by a court order, and fraud.
It is alleged members of the public called police to report Mr Thompson’s dangerous driving at Yatala at about 8.15am.
Police cars surrounded the vehicle and Polair began tracking it as it continued south along the M1, with Mr Thompson allegedly throwing items out the window at his pursuers.
Officers deployed spikes near Reedy Creek – reportedly bursting all four of the ute’s tyres – but it allegedly did not stop Mr Thompson, who was arrested after the ute crashed into a concrete barrier near the Palm Beach Ave exit at about 10am.
Footage shown on 9 News Gold Coast depicts the alleged driver leaning his head and both arms out the window during the incident, at times with what appears to be a mobile phone in one hand.
It was reported earlier on Monday that Mr Thompson first came to police attention in Wynnum on Brisbane’s bayside. The 33-year-old has been charged with leaving a Cannon Hill petrol station without paying for his fuel the same day.
The Capalaba man was transported to Gold Coast University Hospital for treatment to minor injuries and then held in custody.
He did not appear when his case was briefly mentioned in Southport Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
The court was told Mr Thompson was on a return-to-prison warrant and would not be applying for bail at this stage.
His case was adjourned to July 30 and he will be required to appear via videolink.
Driver arrested as bizarre Gold Coast police chase comes to dramatic end
A man has been charged by police following a bizarre slow-speed pursuit from Brisbane to the Gold Coast.
Multiple Gold Coast police officers were called in after Brisbane cops began a pursuit involving a white Mitsubishi Triton ute on Monday morning.
It was understood the pursuit began in Wynnum on Brisbane’s bayside before heading southbound towards the Gold Coast.
Police say the ute was allegedly being driven on its rims at 30 kilometres an hour after all four tyres were burst by road spikes deployed by authorities.
Gold Coast district officer chief superintendent Craig Hanlon said multiple police cars surrounded the ute as it travelled down the M1.
“Police positioned their vehicles behind the vehicle to stop other cars from going around,” he said.
“No one was injured which is the first thing that we want to make sure happens in high-risk situations like this,”
PolAir was called in to assist officers with the pursuit.
Police will allege the driver allegedly threw a tyre iron and other items out the window at pursuing officers.
A Queensland Police Service spokesman said the vehicle crashed into concrete near the Palm Beach Avenue exit and a man was taken into custody.
He was transported to the Gold Coast University Hospital with minor injuries.
A 33-year-old Capalaba man was charged with a number of offences later on Monday afternoon including driving under the influence, evasion and property damage.
He was also issued two traffic infringement notices and is due to appear in Southport Magistrates Court on July 2.
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