Teen accused of police chase from Heidelberg to Gippsland

A pedestrian was forced to dive out of the way of a stolen car as it careened along footpaths in a police chase that stretched more than 110km and reached speeds up to 150km/h, a court has been told.

A teen is accused of being involved in a police chase that lasted more than 100km

A pedestrian was forced to dive out of the way of a stolen car as it careened along footpaths in a police chase that stretched more than 110km from Melbourne’s north to Gippsland, a court has been told.

A boy accused of being involved in the chase, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was bailed in a children’s court hearing on Thursday.

The 16-year-old, along with two others also accused of stealing the Kia, allegedly nicked the car from Heidelberg, driving on footpaths and hitting other cars.

Weaving in and out of traffic, the vehicle made its way to Doncaster, where a police air wing tracked the car and clocked it allegedly travelling at 150km/h.

Still on the run, the stolen car made it all the way to Darnum, in Gippsland, where police put out stop sticks.

The trio of teens is then accused of dumping the car on Young St and fleeing the scene.

It’s alleged the group ran through a property and into scrub near the train tracks before they were arrested and taken to the Morwell Police Station.

It’s alleged the group of youths in a stolen vehicle reached speeds as high as 150km/h on the Princes Fwy.

On other occasions, the accused and other friends allegedly stole two cars, driving as fast as 170km/h in one of the vehicles before dumping it in Sale.

In that instance, the teen was allegedly found with cannabis when he was arrested,

the court heard.

The prosecutor told the court the accused was an unacceptable risk to the community and should not be granted bail.

“In the past four days alone, the accused has been in two stolen vehicles which legitimately and significantly endangered the safety of the public,” he said.

“The accused has only recently been placed on bail, and shortly thereafter committed further offences when placed on another count of bail.”

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The court was told the teenager had, in a police interview, admitted to being in a stolen vehicle but responded with “maybe” when asked if he had been involved in any of the other offending.

Solicitor Elise Anselma said her client was willing to engage with youth justice and had been diagnosed with ADHD and autism.

“(He) instructs he is not medicated in relation to either and hasn’t been for some months, so that requires immediate attention,” Ms Enselma said.

The magistrate said the teen needed to comply with his bail conditions and this was a “critical” time in his life.

“You are lucky no one was killed as a result of this offending,” she said.