Drink-driving, disqualified ‘lunatic’ who led police pursuits in Rye and Sorrento warned to expect jail

A judge has told a dangerous driver who led police on pursuits in Rye and Sorrento that he’s a “a 47-year-old, not a child”, and his juvenile behaviour has put him on the road to imprisonment.

A driver faced off against police before racing past pub goers has been told he’s likely to go to jail.

A “lunatic” driver who led police on a high-speed chase down the wrong side of the road, while disqualified for a similar offence two months earlier, is now on the fast track to jail.

Christopher Ian Bruckshaw, 47, pleaded guilty to a range of traffic offences including dangerous driving, refusing a breath test, drink-driving, failing to stop and driving while disqualified at Dromana Magistrates’ Court last Thursday.

The court heard it was about 9.20pm on January 12 this year when a police patrol came across a car being driven the wrong way down the Esplanade in Sorrento.

There was a face-off before officers activated their lights and gestured to Bruckshaw to pull over.

But instead he floored it, racing off and going the wrong way around a roundabout and then speeding past patrons at licensed premises at speeds of up to 80km/h.

Police did a U-turn and tried to follow him, but called off the pursuit as it was too dangerous.

He was then seen speeding down Pt Nepean Rd before officers went to his address.

He couldn’t be found, but was picked up and arrested the next day.

Bruckshaw had been involved in a similar pursuit just a few months before.

About 10.40pm on November 25 last year police tried to pull him over for a routine check on Pt Nepean Rd in Rye.

He raced away, veered over to the wrong side of the road before officers caught up with him at an intersection.

But he again drove off, speeding through a supermarket carpark, then locking his brakes and nearly crashing into pedestrians.

Officers called off the chase then went to his house and found him in the back seat of his car, extremely drunk.

He resisted arrest, repeatedly refused to be breath-tested and was aggressive and abusive.

He had been suspended from driving for accruing too many demerit points just four weeks before.

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In court his defence lawyer said the labourer had serious alcohol problems, which he was addressing, and knew he was very fortunate not to have injured anyone.

Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge said Bruckshaw was “a 47-year-old, not a child” and had driven extremely dangerously on two separate occasions.

“You drive like a lunatic, there will be consequences for your liberty for that,” Mr Lethbridge said.

“The protection of the community is front and centre; it does call for a term of imprisonment.”

Bruckshaw will be sentenced at Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Friday.